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U.S. DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

BOTANICAL   DIVISION. 
SPECIAL    BU/EEETEST. 


THE 


AGRICULTURAL  GRASSES  AND  FORAGE  PLANTS 

OF  THE 

UNITED    STATES; 

AND  SUCH  FOREIGN  KINDS  AS  HAVE  BEEN  INTRODUCED. 

By   Dr.    GEO.    VASEY,   Botanist; 

WITH   AN 

APPEXDIX 

On  the  Chemical  Composition  of  Grasses,  by  Clifford 

Eichardson,  aud  a  glossary  of  terms  used 

iu  describing  grasses. 


A  NEW,  REVISED,  AND  ENLARGED  EDITION, 

WITH    Hi    PLATES. 

PUBLISHED  BY  AUTHORITY  OF  THE  SECRETARY  OF  AGRICULTURE. 


WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT    PRINTING    OFFICE, 

1889. 


CtlLTUR* 

LWRAR. 


LETTER  OF  SUBMITTAL. 


Sir:  Herewith  I  present  a  Report  on  the  Agricultural  Grasses  and 
Forage  Plants  of  the  United  States,  with  illustrations. 

This  report  is  largely  a  revised  and  enlarged  edition  of  the  "Agricult- 
ural Grasses  of  the  Duited  States"  published  by  this  Department  in 
1884.  Iu  the  present  report  the  principal  forage  plants,  other  than 
grasses,  which  are  employed  in  agriculture,  are  treated  of.  The  purpose 
is  to  give  plain,  general  descriptions  of  the  plants,  together  with  prac- 
tical notes  and  observations  from  persons  who  have  tested  them  in 
actual  cultivation  or  who  have  given  them  special  investigation.  The 
larger  portion  of  the  plants  treated  of  are  natives  of  the  United  States, 
but  such  foreign  species  as  have  been  tried  here  have  also  received 
proper  notice. 

The  great  extent  of  this  country,  with  its  extraordinary  diversities 
of  climate  and  soil,  makes  necessary  a  corresponding  diversity  in  the 
subjects  and  methods  of  agriculture.  With  respect  particularly  to 
grasses  and  forage  plants  adapted  to  different  sections  of  the  country 
we  are  yet  in  the  infancy  of  our  knowledge,  and  must  patiently  and  in- 
telligently conduct  such  experiments  as  will  give  us  the  precise  infor- 
mation we  need.  Every  farmer  and  stock- raiser  in  the  country  is  in- 
terested in  this  subject,  and  it  has  been  the  endeavor  of  the  writer  to 
present  to  the  attention  of  such  persons  in  any  part  of  the  country 
some  grasses  or  forage  plants  suitable  to  their  wants. 
Respectfully, 

Geo.  Vasey, 

Chief  of  Botanical  Division. 
Hon.  J.  M.  Rusk, 

Secretary  of  Agriculture. 


AGRICULTURAL  GRASSES  AND  FORAGE  PLANTS  OF  THE  UNITED 

STATES. 


INTRODUCTION. 

Every  thoughtful  farmer  realizes  the  importance  of  the  production 
on  his  land  of  a  good  supply  of  grass  for  pasturage  and  hay.  He  who 
can  produce  the  greatest  yield  on  a  given  number  of  acres  will  be  the 
most  successful  man;  yet  this  is  a  subject  which  has  been,  and  still  is, 
greatly  neglected. 

In  the  United  States  we  have  many  climates,  many  kiuds  of  soil, 
many  geological  formations,  many  degrees  of  aridity  and  moisture.  It 
must  be  apparent  that  one  species  of  grass  can  not  be  equally  well 
adapted  to  growth  in  all  parts  of  this  extensive  territory;  yet  hardly  a 
dozen  species  of  grasses  have  been  successfully  introduced  into  our 
agriculture.  True  it  is  that  this  number  answers  with  a  tolerable  de- 
gree of  satisfaction  the  wants  of  quite  an  extensive  portion  of  the 
country,  chiefly  the  northern  and  cooler  regions.  But  it  is  well  known 
that  iu  other  localities  the  same  kinds  of  grasses  do  not  succeed  equally 
well,  and  one  of"  the  most  important  problems  for  those  regions  is  to 
obtain  such  kinds  as  shall  be  thoroughly  adapted  to  their  peculiarities 
of  climate  and  soil.  This  is  particularly  the  case  in  the  Southern  and 
Southwestern  States,  the  arid  districts  of  the  West,  and  in  California. 

•The  solution  of  this  question  is  largely  a  matter  of  experiment  and 
observation. 

The  grasses  which  we  have  in  cultivation  were  once  wild  grasses,  and 
are  still  such  iu  their  native  homes. 

The  question  then  arises,  can  we  not  select  from  our  wild  or  native 
species  some  kinds  which  will  be  adapted  to  cultivation  in  those  por- 
tions of  the  country  which  are  not  yet  provided  with  suitable  kinds  ? 
Many  observations  and  some  experiments  in  this  direction  have  already 
been  made,  and  if  proper  research  is  continued,  and  sufficiently  thorough 
experiments  are  followed  up,  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  proper 
kinds  will  be  found  for  successful  cultivation  in  all  parts  of  the  country. 

The  plains  lying  west  of  the  one  hundredth  meridian,  together  with 
much  broken  and  mountainous  interior  country,  nearly  treeless  and 
arid,  in  New  Mexico,  western  Texas,  and  Arizona,  are  unreliable  for 
the  purposes  of  ordinary  agriculture,  but  are  becoming  more  and  more 


important  as  the  great  feeding  ground  for  the  multitudes  of  cattle  which 
supply  the  wants  of  the  settled  regious  of  our  country  as  well  as  the 
constantly  increasing  foreign  demand.  The  pasturage  of  this  region 
consists  essentially  of  native  grasses,  some  of  which  have  acquired  a 
wide  reputation  for  their  rich  nutritious  properties,  for.  their  ability  to 
withstand  the  dry  seasons,  and  for  the  quality  of  self-drying  or  curing, 
so  as  to  be  available  for  pasturage  in  the  winter.  This  quality  is  due 
probably  to  the  nature  of  the  grasses  themselves  and  to  the  effect  of 
the  arid  climate.  It  is  well  known  that  in  moist  countries,  at  lower 
altitudes,  the  grasses  have  much  succulence;  they  grow  rapidly,  and 
their  tissues  are  soft;  a  severe  frost  checks  or  kills  their  growth,  and 
chemical  changes  immediately  occur  which  result  in  rapid  decay : 
whereas  in  the  arid  climate*of  the  plains  the  grasses  have  much  less 
succulence,  the  foliage  being  more  rigid  and  dry,  and  therefore  when 
their  growth  is  arrested  by  frost  the  tissues  are  not  engorged  with 
water,  the  dessicating  influence  of  the  climate  prevents  decay,  and  the 
grass  is  kept  on  the  ground  in  good  condition  for  winter  forage.  Gen- 
eral Benjamin  Alvord,  of  the  U.  S.  Army,  in  an  article  on  the  subject 
of  these  winter-cured  grasses,  states  that  they  only  acquire  this  prop- 
erty on  land  which  is  3,000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  The  region 
having  such  an  altitude  includes,  he  says,  all,  nearly  up  to  the  timber 
line,  of  Montana,  Idaho,  Wyoming,  Utah,  Nevada,  Colorado,  and  New 
Mexico;  five-sixths  of  Arizona,  one-half  of  Dakota,  one-fourth  of  Texas, 
one-fifth  of  Kansas,  and  one-sixth  each  of  California,  Oregon,  and 
Washington  Territory,  embracing  about  one-fourth  of  the  area  of  the 
whole  United  States. 

Many  of  the  grasses  of  this  extensive  region  are  popularly  known  as 
"buuch  grass/'  from  their  habit  of  growth  ;  others  are  known  as  4-mes- 
quite,1  and  "grama  grass."  These  consist  of  many  species  of  different 
genera,  some  of  them  more  or  less  local  and  sparingly  distributed, 
others  having  a  wide  range  from  Mexico  to  British  America. 

The  most  important  of  the  "  bunch  grasses"  may  be  briefly  mentioned 
as  follows:  Of  the  genus  Stipa  there  are  several  species  :  Stipa  comata 
and  Stipa  setigera  occur  abundantly  in  Xew  Mexico.  Texas.  Arizona, 
and  California,  reaching  to  Oregon.  In  Colorado,  Kansas,  and  all  the 
prairie  region  northward,  stretching  into  British  America,  Stipa  spartea 
is  the  principal  one  of  the  genus.  On  the  higher  plateaus  and  near  the 
mountains  the  Stipa  viridula  is  very  common,  extending  from  Arizona 
to  Oregon  and  British  America.  Somewhat  related  botanically  is  Ory- 
zopsis  cuspidata,  a  very  rigid  bunch  grass,  with  a  fine,  handsome  panicle 
of  flowers.  It  is  equally  widespread  with  the  preceding.  Another 
widely  diffused  grass  is  Deschampsia  cwspitosa,  varying  much  in  size 
and  thriftiness  according  to  the  altitude  and  amount  of  moisture  where 
it  grows,  but  always  having  a  light,  elegant,  spreading  panicle  of 
silvery  gray  flowers. 

One  of  the  most  extensively  diffused  grasses  is  Kwleria  cristata,  vary- 


ing  in  height  from  1  foot  to  2J  feet,  with  a  narrow  and  closely  flowered 
spike.  Several  species  of  fescue  grass  (Festuca)  are  intermixed  with 
the  vegetatiou  in  varying  proportions ;  the  most  important  of  these 
probably  are  Festuca  ovina  in  several  varieties,  and  Festuca  scahrella, 
the  latter  especially  in  California,  Oregon,  and  Washington. 

The  genus  Calamagrostis  (or  Deyeuxia,  as  it  has  been  called)  furnishes 
several  species  which  contribute  largely  to  the  vegetation  of  this  region. 
They  are  mostly  tall,  stiff,  and  coarse  grasses,  but  leafy  and  some  of 
them  very  nutritious.  Of  these,  Calamagrostis  sylvatica  and  Calama- 
grostis neglecta  are  the  least  valuable.  Perhaps  the  best  of  them  is 
Calamagrostis  Canadensis,  which  is  soft  and  leafy.  Next  in  value,  prob- 
ably, is  Calamagrostis  Aleutica,  of  California  and  Oregon,  extending 
into  Alaska.  Calamagrostis  (Ammophila)  longifolia,  confined  chiefly  to 
the  plains  east  of  the  Eocky  Mountains,  is  tall  and  reed-like,  growing 
in  dense  clumps,  from  4  to  G  feet  high. 

Several  species  of  Andropogon  are  diffused  from  Arizona  to  British 
America,  but  are  not  found  on  the  western  coast.  The  principal  species 
are  Andropogon  scoparius,  A.  furcatus,  and  A.  (Chrysopogon)  nutans. 
Some  of  them  are  known  under  the  name  of  "bluejoint." 

Other  grasses  also  widely  spread,  but  in  more  sparing  quantity,  are 
several  species  of  Poa  and  Glyceria.  Several  varieties  of  Agropyrum 
repens,  or  couch  grass,  occur  abundantly  in  saline  soils,  and  also  Agro- 
pyrum glaucum,  which  is  widely  known  as  "  blue  stem,"  and  is  considered 
among  the  most  nutritious  of  grasses.  Brizopyrum  spicatum,  now  called 
Disticlilis  maritima,  and  some  species  of  Sporobolus,  also  form  extensive 
patches  or  meadows  in  saline  soils.  Besides  there  is  a  large  number 
of  grasses  of  low  growth  and  of  more  spreading  habit,  which  are  known 
in  the  southwest  and  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  under  the  names  of 
"inesquite"  and  u  buffalo  ""  grasses.  The  former  belong  mostly  to  the 
genus  Boutelona,  the  most  important  species  being  B.  racembsa,  or  tall 
mesquite,  and  B.  oligostachya,  or  low  mesquite.  The  true  buffalo  grass 
is,  botanically,  Buchloe  dactyloides,  which  in  many  places  forms  exten- 
sive fields  over  large  areas.  It  is  of  a  low  and  densely  tufted  or  matted 
habit.  Another  similar  grass,  but  of  little  value,  spreading  out  in  low, 
wide  patches,  is  Munroa  squarrosa.  The  above-mentioned  species  form 
the  larger  proportion  of  the  grassy  vegetation  of  the  great  plains. 


ERE  ATA. 

Page  35,  after  "Andropogon  furcatus"  insert  li{A.  provindalis)  ". 

Page  ill,  after  "Ammophila  arundinacea  "  for  "43"  read  "48";  after  "Clover, 
pin"  for  "  103"  read  "  102." 

Page  112,  after  "  Eucblama  luxurians"  for  "30"  read  "31." 

Page  113,  after  "  Sporobolus  heterolepis"  for  "107"  read  "106";  after  "  Sweet 
vernal  grass"  for  "39"  read  "40";  after  "Trifolium  stoloniferum "  for  "82"  read 
"83";  after  " Trisetum  subspicatum"  for  "51"  read  "52";  after  "Wire  grass"  for 
"107  "read  "106." 

Page  147,  for  "  Millium  "  read  "  Milium  "  ;  in  tbe  same  line,  for  "  41 "  read  "40." 

Page  148,  after  "Trifolium  incaruatum  "  for  "94"  read  "93." 

Plate  10,  for  "bine  grass  "  read  "  millet." 

Plate  62.  for  "  Gramma"  and  "gramma  "  read  "  Grama  "  and  "  grama." 

Plate  63,  for  "gramma"  read  "  grama." 

Plate  83,  for  "  Rougb-leaved  fescue  "  read  "  Buncb  grass." 


GRASSES  FOR  GENERAL  CULTURE. 


The  grasses  form  oiie  of  the  largest  and  most  widely  diffused  families 
of  plants,  being  spread  over  all  habitable  parts  of  the  globe.  Some 
kinds  are  restricted  to  particular  localities,  others  are  diffused  over  large 
countries,  and  a  few  are  either  native  to  all  the  continents  or  have  fol- 
lowed in  the  tracks  of  commerce  and  discovery,  so  as  now  to  be  found 
in  every  principal  country.  Over  three  thousand  species  are  now  known 
and  described.  Among  these  there  is  an  immense  diversity  in  size  and 
form  of  growth,  some  kinds  never  growing  more  than  an  inch  or  two 
high,  and  others  in  tropical  regions  attaining  a  height  of  60  or  70  feet, 
with  such  a  density  of  stem  as  to  be  useful  in  the  building  of  houses, 
for  masts  for  vessels,  and  many  other  purposes;  as  the  bamboos  of 
China,  Japan,  and  India. 

The  grasses  are  of  greater  economic  importance,  as  furnishing  food 
for  man  and  animals,  than  any  other  or  all  other  plants.  The  truth  of 
this  remark  will  at  once  be  recognized  when  we  consider  that  all  the 
staple  cereals  of  the  world,  as  wheat,  rye,  barley,  maize,  rice,  oats,  mil- 
let, etc.,  are  grasses. 

These  grasses  have  been  objects  of  cultivation  from  time  immemorial. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  they  were  originally  selected  from  wild 
forms  on  account  of  the  size,  quantity,  and  nutritive  value  of  their 
grains.  The  fact  of  their  great  value  being  discovered,  the  observation 
would  soon  follow  that  by  planting  the  seeds  in  suitable  ground,  and 
caring  for  the  growing  plants  by  the  exclusion  of  all  other  vegetation, 
a  certain  and  reliable  resource  for  sustenance  would  be  obtained. 

This  was  the  beginning  of  agriculture,  and  agriculture  made  possible 
the  numerical  increase  and  diffusion  of  human  population. 

History  of  Grass  Culture. — The  selection  and  cultivation  of  particular 
kinds  of  grasses  with  reference  to  their  superior  grazing  qualities  and 
f <  r  the  greater  production  of  hay  is,  however,  a  comparatively  modern 
practice. 

In  the  Philippine  Islands,  as  we  are  informed  by  the  United  States 
consul  at  Manilla  (Mr.  Julius  G.  Voight),  a  species  of  rice  grass  (Leer- 
sia  hexandra)  is  cultivated  for  the  purpose  of  supplying  feed  for  the  few 
domestic  animals  which  are  kept  for  the  cultivation  of  land  and  for  the 
carrying  of  burdens. 

9 


10 

This  grass  (locally  called  zacate)  is  cultivated  exclusively  in  low,  wet 
ground,  and  is  flooded  occasionally  alter  the  manner  of  rice,  being  first 
started  in  seed  beds  and  then  transplanted  to  the  previously  flowed 
field.  How  far  this  custom  prevails  in  otber  eastern  countries  we  do 
not  know,  but  from  the  general  antiquity  and  uniformity  of  the  prac- 
tices of  husbandry  in  those  countries  we  may  suppose  that  this  practice 
is  there  of  ancient  origin.. 

But  as  far  as  western  nations  are  concerned  the  cultivation  of  spe- 
cial grasses  for  hay  is  a  modern  improvement,  fer.  Martin  J.  Sutton, 
in  a  recent  work  on  "Permanent  and  Temporary  Pastures,"  states  that 
Lolium  perenne,  or  perennial  rye  grass,  was  the  first  grass  gathered 
separately  for  agricultural  purposes.  Ee  further  states  that  it  has 
been  known  since  1611,  the  date  of  the  earliest  agricultural  book  which 
mentions  it.  Mr.  George  Sinclair,  in  his  advertisement  to  the  fourth 
edition  of  tlie  "  Hortus  Gramineus  Woburnensis,"  says: 

The  time  has  heeu  in  this  country  [i.  c,  England]  when  providing  sufficient  for- 
age for  live  stock  in  winter  was  a  matter  of  the  greatest  difficulty;  and  great  losses 
were  sustained,  and  many  advantages  given  up,  on  account  of  the  absolute  want  of 
winter  fodder.  Old  turf,  suitable  either  for  grazing  or  for  the  scythe,  was  supposed  to 
be  a  creation  of  centuries,  and  that  a  farmer,  who  wished  to  lay  down  a  meadow  in  his 
youth,  must  see  the  end  of  his  "  three  score  years  and  ten  "  before  he  could  possibly 
possess  a  piece  of  pasture  capable  of  keeping  a  score  of  sheep  or  a  couple  of  cows. 
So  much  was  the  want  of  grass  land  felt  among  arable  farmers  iu  times  past  that  the 
tenancy  of  it  was  eagerly  sought,  its  value  was  consequently  highly  prized,  and 
heavy  fines  were  imposed  for  breaking  it  up.  The  banks  of  riveis  were  usually  made 
commonable,  in  order  that  the  surrounding  farmers  might  each  have  a  share:  and 
these  meadows  were  in  many  cases  irrigated  in  order  to  increase  still  more  the  scanty 
stock  of  winter  fodder. 

Perennial  rye  grass,  as  we  have  seen,  began  to  be  cultivated  early 
in  the  seventh  century,  and  it  seems  to  have  been  about  the  only  grass 
so  cultivated  for  a  hundred  years  longer.  Iu  17G3  it  is  said  that  a  Mr, 
Wynch  brought  from  Virginia  into  England  the  Phleum pratense,  under 
the  local  name  of  Timothy  grass,  it  having  been  cultivated  iu  the 
United  States  for  some  forty  years.  This  was  also  soon  established  as 
an  agricultural  grass  in  England,  and  a  few  years  later  was  followed 
by  the  introduction  of  orchard  grass  {Dactylis glomerata)  from  Virginia, 
by  the  Society  of  Arts  ;  at  least  this  statement  is  made  by  Mr.  Parnell 
in  his  work  on  British  grasses,  but  is  probably  an  error.  It  is  con- 
sidered doubtful  by  Mr.  Charles  Johnson  in  the  "Grasses  of  Great 
Britain,"  who  says  it  is  eminently  European,  being  distributed  natu- 
rally over  the  whole  of  Europe  ard  the  adjoining  parts  of  Asia.  It  is 
not  known  to  be  native  in  the  United  States. 

As  to  Phi  en  7n  pratense  (Timothy  grass),  it  is  naturally  widely  diffused 
over  Europe,  but  it  is  admitted  by  all  that  its  cultivation  was  first  under- 
taken in  the  United  States,  where  it  is  also  indigenous  in  mountainous 
regions.  It  is,  however,  well  known  that  in  Europe  up  to  about  the  year 
1815  there  were  but  three  or  four  kinds  of  grass  generally  cultivated. 


11 

At  that  time  the  Duke  of  Bedford  instituted  his  famous  series  of  ex- 
periments at  Woburn,  in  England,  for  determining  the  nutritive  prop- 
erties of  different  grasses.  These  experiments  brought  into  notice 
many  before  unnoticed  grasses  and  greatly  stimulated  their  cultivation  ; 
and  the  subsequent  development  of  this  branch  of  agriculture  has  been 
the  means  of  obtaining  astonishing  results,  not  only  in  the  multiplied 
facilities  for  the  grazing  and  fattening  of  cattle  and  sheep,  but  also  in 
the  reaction  of  this  business  on  the  cultivation  of  grain,  by  t'ie  greatly 
multiplied  means  of  obtaining  manures  by  which  the  exhausted  lands 
were  renewed  and  the  yield  of  grain  increased. 

History  of  Grass  Culture  in  the  United  States. — In  the  early  history  of 
this  country,  particularly  in  the  Northern  States,  while  the  settlements 
were  sparse,  the  natural  pasturage  was  abundant,  and  the  natural 
meadows  and  marshes  furnished  a  supply  of  hay  for  winter  feeding. 
But  in  course  of  time,  by  the  increase  of  population,  the  farms  began 
to  crowd  each  other,  and  the  range  for  cattle  was  restricted. 

Then  probably  arose  the  question  of  forming  meadows  and  pastures 
of  limited  extent.  Early  in  the  last  century  Mr.  Jared  Elliot  (of  Con- 
necticut) made  some  valuable  investigations  respecting  the  grasses  suit- 
able for  cultivation,  and  by  practice  and  teaching  sought  to  bring  this 
subject  to  the  attention  of  the  people. 

In  1749  he  wrote  a  particular  account  of  the  fowl  meadow  grass  (Poa 
serotina)  which  is  native  in  New  England,  giving  an  interesting  account 
of  its  value  as  a  meadow  grass. 

He  also  reiers  to  Herd's  grass,  or  Timothy,  as  having  been  found  "  in 
a  swamp  in  Piscataqua  by  one  Herd,  who  propagated  the  same."  It  is 
also  said  to  have  been  cultivated  in  Maryland  about  the  year  1720.  This 
was  some  fifty  years  before  its  cultivation  in  England.  It  is  also  stated 
by  Paruell  in  his  work  on  the  British  Grasses,  that  orchard  grass 
(Dactylis  glomeraia)  was  first  cultivated  in  the  United  States,  and  thence 
introduced  into  England  about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
Probably  soon  after  this  date  two  other  standard  grasses  came  into  use, 
viz,  Poa  pratemis  (Kentucky  blue  grass)  and  Agrostis  alba  (redtop). 
Some  other  grasses  have  had  a  limited  trial,  but  the  Timothy  grass, 
blue  grass,  orchard  grass,  and  redtop  have  continued  to  be  the  prin- 
cipal meadow  grasses  of  the  Northern  States.  To  these  should  be  added 
red  clover,  which,  although  not  a  grass,  is  a  very  common  meadow  crop, 
usually  combined  with  Timothy. 

Grass  in  the  South. — Although  the  Southern  States  were  earlier  settled 
than  the  Northern  ones,  there  was  a  very  different  condition  of  agri- 
culture as  respects  grazing  and  hay-making.  In  some  of  these  States 
the  climate  permits  of  the  growth  of  grasses  during  the  greater  part  of 
the  year,  some  species  making  their  growth  during  the  hot  season  and 
others  during  the  colder  mouths,  so  that  cattle  may  commonly  obtain 
subsistence  in  the  field  throughout  the  year,  and  hay  is  little  employed 
except  for  horses  and  cattle  kept  to  labor. 


12 

But  these  places  suffer  from  protracted  droughts  in  summer  and  fall, 
which  parch  the  pastures  so  that  cattle  and  sheep  are  not  then  able  to 
find  a  sufficiency  of  feed.  The  pasture  and  meadow  grasses  of  the  iSorth 
have  not  been  generally  cultivated  with  Success  in  the  States  which 
border  on  the  Gult  of  Mexico,  and  the  greatest  want  of  agriculture  in 
that  region  is  the  introduction  of  grasses  that  will  maintain  growth  and 
vigor  during  protracted  droughts. 

The  same  remarks  may  be  made  with  respect  to  the  grasses  needed 
for  cultivation  in  the  arid  districts  of  the  West,  and  there  is  every  rea- 
son to  expect  that  grasses  adapted  to  such  conditions  of  climate  and 
soil  will  be*found. 

Permanence  of  Pastures  and  Meadows. — It  has  long  been  a  question  as 
to  how  long  land  should  be  allowed  to  continue  in  pasture  or  meadow. 
The  answer  to  this  question  will  depend  very  much  on  circumstances. 

Unquestionably  the  best  plan  for  farming  is  the  practice  of  mixed 
husbandry,  or  a  mixture  of  raising  grain  crops  and  the  fattening  of  do- 
mestic animals;  for  with  a  diversity  of  products  there  is  an  alleviation 
of  the  evils  of  frequent  crop  failures,  which  are  usually  limited  to  one 
or  two  kinds,  and  also  an  alleviation  of  the  fluctuations  in  the  prices  of 
crops,  so  that  where  some  grain  crops  fail  from  any  cause,  the  farmer 
has  a  resource  in  those  of  another  kind  and  in  his  live  stock.  Besides, 
the  rotation  of  crops,  including  the  periodical  laying  down  of  cultivated 
ground  to  grass,  and  the  change  of  grass  land  to  the  growth  of  field 
crops,  results  in  the  best  condition  of  the  soil. 

In  the  practice  of  most  farmers,  meadow  lands  are  seldom  continued 
more  than  three  or  four  years  without  a.  change  to  the  plow.  But 
pasture  lands  are  more  frequently  kept  undisturbed  for  a  longer 
time,  and  so  long  as  they  continue  in  a  healthy,  clean,  and  productive 
state  there  can  be  no  objection  to  their  permanence;  but  whenever  a 
pasture  becomes  overgrown  with  weeds,  or  filled  with  worthless  or 
unproductive  grasses,  it  is  time  for  it  to  take  its  place  in  a  system 
of  rotation  and  renovation,  at  the  same  time  regarding  the  needs  of 
the  soil  in  respect  to  fertilizing  and  cleaning  from  rocks,  briers,  and 
other  shrubs. 

Drainage  of  Grass  Lands. — Generally  speaking,  there  is  the  same  benefit 
to  be  derived  from  the  proper  drainage  of  grass  lands,  that  is  so  con- 
spicuously shown  in  lands  devoted  to  other  crops.  All  lands  with  an 
impervious  subsoil  of  stiff  clay,  or  soils  that  are  water-clogged,  may  be 
greatly  benefited  by  proper  draining,  both  in  the  quality  and  quan- 
tity of  the  grass  product.  On  such  land,  properly  drained,  the  grass  will 
start  earlier  in  the  spring  and  will  continue  to  grow  later  in  the  fall 
than  without  drainage.  All  soils  which  rest  upon  a  porous  subsoil  do 
not  need  it,  and  land  may  have  so  strong  a  slope  that  the  water  is  dis- 
charged from  it  with  sufficient  rapidity  without  the  aid  of  a  drain. 
Wet,  water-soaked  pastures  generally  abound  in  rushes  and  sedges, 
which  may  grow  luxuriantly,  but  are  coarse  and  innutritious.    The  valu- 


13 

able  grasses  on  such  pastures  are  injured  or  destroyed  by  the  tramping 
of  cattle,  whose  hoof's  penetrate  the  wet  ground. 

An  eminent  German  scientist  has  demonstrated  that  there  is  an  intimate  connection 
between  a  warm,  dry  soil  and  economy  in  feeding  cattle.  Friable  land  absorbs  more 
heat  than  land  which  is  saturated  with  moisture,  and  retains  the  heat  for  a  longer 
period.  Upon  the  one,  animals  lie  warmer,  especially  at  night,  than  they  do  upon  the 
other.  Now  a  largo  portion  of  the  food  consumed  by  animals  is  utilized  for  the  pro- 
duction of  the  heat  which  is  constantly  dissipated  from  their  bodies.  It  follows  that 
additional  food  becomes  necessary  to  replace  the  animal  heat  lost  by  the  colder  sur- 
roundings.* 

The  Selection  of  Grasses. — The  selection  of  the  proper  kinds  of  grasses 
to  be  employed  for  meadows  or  pastures  must  depend  on  several  cir- 
cumstances, such  as  soil,  drainage,  habit  of  growth,  productions,  etc. 
No  one  kind  of  grass  can  be  expected  to  be  adapted  to  all  conditions, 
neither  can  any  given  mixture  of  grasses.  There  has  been  a  great 
amount  of  empiricism  in  this  matter.  One  man  finds  a  certain  grass  to 
be  very  thrifty  and  productive  on  his  farm,  and  thinks  he  has  found  the 
great  desideratum,  and  at  once  proclaims  his  grass,  perhaps  gives  it  a 
new  name,  and  recommends  its  use,  without  regard  to  the  conditions  or 
circumstances  which  may  be  absolutely  essential  to  its  success. 

Others  purchase  seed  of  the  new  grass,  perhaps  at  exorbitant  prices, 
and  without  a  knowledge  of  its  peculiar  habits  or  wants,  give  it  a  trial 
and  find  it  a  failure,  probably  because  climate  or  soil,  or  other  essential 
conditions  are  unsuitable  to  its  wants. 

Mr.  Sutton,  writing  on  this  subject,  says : 

The  whole  question  is  one  of  experience,  and  I  am  well  persuaded  that  those  who 
possess  the  largest  knowledge,  drawn  from  the  widest  sources,  will  concur  in  the 
opinion  that  each  individual  case  should  be  considered  independently  and  upon  its 
own  merits.  I  would  lay  great  stress  upon  the  necessity  of  starting  with  a  clear  under- 
standing of  the  condition  and  capability  of  the  soil.  The  subsoil,  too,  must  be  taken 
into  account ;  for  sooner  or  later  its  influence  will  tell  decisively  upon  the  existence 
of  certain  grasses. 

Then  the  purpose  of  the  grass  crop  must  not  be  overlooked.  Whether  it  is  chiefly 
for  hay  or  entirely  for  grazing  will  prove  an  important  consideration  in  determining 
the  sorts  to  be  sown.  Even  the  kind  of  cattle  the  land  is  intended  to  carry  is  worth 
more  than  a  passing  thought.  Milch  cows,  fattening  stock,  sheep,  and  horses,  or  a 
combination  of  these  animals,  can  be  provided  for  if  a  definite  object  is  held  steadily 
in  view. 

In  an  old  and  well-settled  country  there  is  much  accumulated  experi- 
ence among  farmers,  which  a  beginner  may  avail  himself  of  to  the  avoid- 
ance of  serious  mistakes.  Still  an  observing  and  progressive  man  will 
often  find  occasion  for  a  departure  from  established  rules  and  practices 
in  the  introduction  of  new  kinds  for  cultivation  ;  indeed  it  is  only  thus 
that  progress  and  improvement  can  be  made ;  but  it  will  also  be  wise  to 
make  such  experiments  with  caution  and  without  incurring  too  much  risk. 

In  some  portions  of  our  country  the  experience  of  the  past  is  very 
unsatisfactory  with  respect  to  grass  culture ;  and  in  other  portions,  as 

*  Sutton  on  Permanent  aud  Temporary  Pastures, 


14 

in  the  new  settlements  of  the  arid  districts,  all  culture  must  be  in  the 
nature  of  experiment,  and  much  judgment  and  large  information  are 
needed  to  guide  the  experimenter  to  the  best  results. 

Relation  of  Stock  to  Pastures. — The  farmer  and  grazier  should  always 
bear  in  mind  that  his  pastures  should  be  adapted  to  the  kind  as  well 
as  the  quantity  of  stock  which  he  keeps.  Cattle  and  sheep  are  very 
different  in  their  feeding  habits,  the  sheep  cropping  the  grass  very 
close,  and  cattle  requiring  to  have  the  grass  longer  in  order  to  get  a 
bite.  Horses  again  do  not  bite  as  close  as  cattle.  By  judiciously 
proportioning  the  kind  of  stock  kept  on  the  pasture  a  much  better 
result  may  be  obtained  by  keeping  both  cattle  and  sheep  thau  by 
keeping  either  alone.  The  field  will  thus  be  kept  cleaner  and  in  better 
condition. 

Management  of  the  Pasture. — Care  must  be  observed  that  cattle  or 
sheep  be  not  put  upon  grass  too  early  in  the  spring,  before  the  grass  has 
fairly  commenced  to  grow.  This  rule  applies  particularly  to  sheep,  who 
will  in  such  cases  eat  the  heart  out  of  the  grass  crown,  to  its  entire 
destruction.  When, however,  the  grasses  have  made  a  good  start  there 
will  be  much  of  the  taller  stalks  and  coarser  culms  which  the  sheep  will 
reject,  and  which  cattle  will  crop  with  avidity.  As  the  season  advances 
there  are  often  bunches  of  grass  neglected  by  both  cattle  and  sheep,  giv- 
ing to  the  pasture  a  rough  and  uneven  appearance,  when  the  mower 
should  be  run  over  the  pasture,  after  which  the  old  tufts  will  send  up 
another  crop  of  tender  blades. 

No  precise  date  can  be  given  for  beginning  to  graze  pastures  in  the  spring.  Cattle 
should  not  be  „urned  in  until  there  is  enough  feed  to  keep  them  going  without  too 
much  help  from  hay,  nor  until  the  ground  is  firm  enough  to  prevent  their  hoofs  from 
damaging  the  youug  shoots  of  the  grasses. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  the  grass  gets  too  old,  the  animals  refuse  much  of  it,  and  the 
fodder  will  be  lost.  Pastures  consisting  largely  of  early,  stroug-growiug  grasses, 
particularly  cock's  foot  (orchard  grass),  will  need  to  be  stocked  before  others  which 
produce  finer  and  later  varieties.* 

It  is  sometimes  a  nice  question  to  determine  when  to  take  stock  off 
the  pastures  in  the  fall.  This  will  depend  much  on  the  length  of  the 
growing  season  in  any  particular  locality.  In  northern  latitudes  the 
growth  of  vegetation  will  be  arrested  early,  and  when  the  grass  has 
quite  ceased  to  grow  the  stock  should  be  removed  that  the  ground  may 
be  in  proper  condition  for  an  early  start  in  the  following  spring.  Usu- 
ally, however,  in  northern  sections  of  the  country  the  question  is  effect- 
ually settled  by  the  early  descent  of  the  winter  snows.  In  southern 
latitudes  the  climate  is  so  mild  that  the  growing  season  continues  all 
winter,  so  that  stock  live  mainly  or  entirely  upon  the  growing  grass, 
there  being  sorts  there  which  naturally  make  their  principal  growth  in 
the  coolest  portion  of  the  year. 

*  Sutton  on  Permanent  and  Temporary  Pastures. 


15 

Supplementary  Feed. — It  often  happens  that  a  drought  occurs  in  the 
summer  or  fall,  in  which  the  pastures  are  dried  and  parched  so  that  the 
cattle  fail  to  get  a  sufficient  amount  of  feed.  It  is,  therefore,  the  prac- 
tice of  careful  and  provident  farmers  to  huve  a  tract  of  land  sown  to 
some  kind  of  fodder,  which  may  be  drawn  upon  to  supply  the  deficiency 
of  pasturage,  and  not  only  to  keep  the  animals  from  suffering,  but  to 
keep  them  also  in  a  growiug  condition.  Corn  sown  broadcast  or  in 
close  drills,  or  sorghum  sown  in  like  manner,  are  some  of  the  best 
grasses  for  this  purpose. 

Some  varieties  of  sweet  corn,  combining  earliuess  and  productiveness 
or  large  size,  will  be  better  than  common  held  corn,  especially  to  keep 
up  the  supply  of  milk  from  cows. 

Hungarian  grass  and  millet  make  excellent  fodder  crops.  They  are 
both  considered  to  be  but  varieties  of  the  same  species,  and  there  is 
practically  little  difference  between  them.  If  sowed  on  tolerably  rich 
ground  they  will  produce  sometimes  a  very  large  yield  of  grass.  They 
are  of  rapid  growth,  and  are  frequently  ready  to  be  cut  two  months 
from  the  time  of  sowing.  They  generally  produce  an  abundance  of  nu- 
tritious seeds,  on  account  of  which  cattle  thrive  better  on  them  than  on 
corn  fodder.  Beets  and  prickly  comfrey  are  also  recommended  as  fod- 
der plants  in  some  localities. 

The  pastures  may  also  often  be  relieved  by  turning  stock  on  to 
stubble  after  harvest. 

Humanity  dictates  that  a  man  should  not  keep  any  more  stock  than 
he  can  under  ordinary  circumstances  care  for  and  give  sufficient  feed. 
But  a  provident  and  good  manager  will  be  enabled  safely  to  keep  a 
much  larger  number  than  a  man  who  is  shiftless  and  careless.  He  will 
do  this  by  making  provision  for  casualties  and  probable  contingencies. 
It  is  much  better  and  more  profitable  to  have  a  surplus  of  feed  than  to 
have  a  deficiency. 

Kind  of  Grasses  for  Meadows  and  Pastures. — In  this  country  there  has 
been  very  little  variety  in  the  kinds  of  grasses  cultivated,  the  range 
being  generally  Timothy,  blue  grass  or  June  grass,  orchard  grass,  and 
redtop,  usually  combined  more  or  less  with  red  or  white  clover. 

Farmers  are  influenced  somewhat  by  the  markets  they  supply.  The 
most  popular  hay  in  the  markets  of  the  great  cities  is  Timothy,  and 
meadows  of  this  grass  alone  are  very  common,  and  when  well  managed 
are  very  satisfactory  and  profitable.  It  is  also  very  common  to  combine 
Timothy  with  red  clover  in  various  proportions. 

In  low,  wet  meadows,  particularly  in  New  England,  redtop  is  con- 
siderably employed,  and  it  is  a  common  constituent  of  pastures  in  all 
the  Northern  States. 

In  England,  great  attention  has  been  given  to  combining  several 
kinds  of  grasses  in  meadows,  and  it  is  claimed  that  the  practice  is 
setter  for  the  land  and  gives  a  larger  yield  than  when  one  variety  only 
is  employed.    By  using  a  mixture  the  ground  may  often  be  more  uni- 


16 

fonnly  covered,  and  in  pastures  there  will  be,  from  the  different  flow- 
ering time  of  the  different  species,  a  succession  and  continuation  of  a 
supply  of  tender  foliage. 

Some  species  of  grass  are  adapted  to  clay  lands,  some  to  sandy  soils, 
some  to  loam,  some  to  dry  upland,  and  some  to  low  laud;  but  even  for 
land  of  a  uniform  quality  it  is  believed  that  a  mixture  of  five  or  six  suit- 
able varieties  will  yield  a  larger  crop  than  one  aloue.  The  mixture  of 
several  varieties  is  perhaps  most  valuable  in  land  that  is  designated  for 
pasturage,  as  then  they  reach  maturity  at  different  times  and  furnish 
a  succession  of  good  feed,  and  also  cover  more  completely  and  uniformly 
the  ground.  But  no  general  mixture  of  grass  seed  can  be  adapted  to  all 
situations  and  soils.  Every  farmer  should  study  carefully  the  nature 
of  his  grounds,  its  altitude,  drainage  and  composition,  and  then  adapt 
his  grasses  to  the  circumstances.       • 

Generally  there  are  few  cases  where  there  will  be  any  advantage  in 
employing  more  than  five  or  six  well-selected  varieties  for  cultivation 
in  one  field.  For  a  permanent  pasture  under  most  circumstances  the 
following  kinds  in  proper  proportions  would  make  a  good  mixture,  viz  : 
June  grass  (blue  grass),  fox-tail  {Alopecurus  pratensk),  redtop  (bent 
grass),  Timothy,  tall  fescue,  and  perennial  rye  grass.  This  will  give 
a  succession  as  to  earliness  of  growth  and  flowering. 

But  in  some  localities  and  for  some  soils,  as  in  Kentucky  for  instance, 
the  farmer  who  has  a  good  pasture  of  blue  grass  will  not  think  it  capa- 
ble of  much  improvement.  As  we  speak  of  the  individual  kinds  of 
grasses  and  their  adaptation  to  different  soils,  the  farmer  will  be  able 
to  judge  how  far  they  will  suit  his  circumstances. 

Mixed  Grasses  for  Pasturage.— For  pasturage,  however,  we  recommend  a  vari- 
ety of  grasses  and  thick  seeding.  Stock  like  variety  and  thrive  better  on  it.  Each 
variety  has  its  season  of  greatest  excellence,  and  thus  the  best  pasturage  can  be  kept 
up  throughout  the  year.  The  common  red  clover  should  be  sown  with  the  grasses 
for  all  pastures.  It  is  a  rank  grower  and  resists  drought  admirably.  We  are  glad 
more  attention  is  being  paid  to  pasturage.  Improved  farming  can  not  be  carried  on 
without  it.  and  in  nothiug  are  the  majority  of  our  farmers  more  neglectful  than  in 
seeding  inore  of  their  farms  to  good  pastures.* 

A  Kentucky  farmer  gives  the  following  mixture  where  an  immediate 
pasture  is  wanted : 

Blue  grass pounds..  8 

Orchard  grass do 4 

Timothy do....  4 

Red  clover do....  "6 

To  this  may  be  added  Italiau  rye  grass,  4  pounds,  and  the  same 
amount  of  fescue  grass  if  preferred,  but  the  other  is  ordinarily  sufficient. 
This  quantity  is  a  heavy  seeding  for  one  acre.  The  blue  grass  will 
not  be  seen  much  at  first,  but  by  the  time  the  clover  dies  out  it  will 
have  taken  hold  of  the  entire  surface. 

*  Colman's  Rural  World. 


17 

A  writer  in  the  New  England  Farmer  recommends  the  following  for- 
mula for  a  permanent  pasture : 

Early  varieties— 

Red  clover pounds..  10 

Alsike  clover do 5 

Orchard  grass bushel . .  1 

June  grass do 1 

Perennial  rye  grass do 1 

Late  varieties — 

Herd's  grass do ^ 

R.  I.  bent  grass do ^ 

Redtop do 1 

This  forms  an  unusually  heavy  seeding,  and  probably  the  quantities 
may  be  advautageously  reduced,  but  the  combination  presents  a  vari- 
ety that  will  give  a  succession  from  early  till  late  in  the  season. 
The  more  common  mixture  for  meadows  is  as  follows  per  acre : 

Redtop bushel . .     1 

Timothy do -J 

Red  clover pounds . .     4 

On  highlands  orchard  grass  might  be  substituted  for  the  redtop. 

Time  and  Manner  of  Seeding  Grass  Seed. — There  has  been  much  diver- 
sity of  opinion  as  to  the  proper  time  of  seeding  land  to  grass.  A  very 
common  practice  has  been  to  sow  the  seed  in  the  spring  with  a  grain 
crop,  generally  of  oats.  If  the  season  is  favorable  this  method  suc- 
ceeds very  well,  having  the  advantage  of  no  loss  in  the  regular  crops 
of  the  land.  The  growing  grain  furnishes  to  the  young  grass  shelter 
and  shade  from  the  heat  of  the  sun,  and  after  the  removal  of  the  crop 
the  grass  spreads,  and  sometimes  the  same  season  furnishes  a  light  crop 
tor  the  scythe  or  some  grazing  for  the  cattle.  But  the  success  of  this 
plan  of  seeding  is  not  by  any  means  certain.  In  a  very  dry  season  the 
young  plants  may  perish  from  drought,  or  in  a  wet  season  the  grain 
may  lodge  and  smother  the  young  grass.  Hence  others  recommend 
late  summer  or  early  fall  seeding.  A  writer  in  the  Massachusetts 
Ploughmau  makes  the  following  statement : 

The  last  half  of  August  is  generally  considered  the  best  time  for  seeding ;  earlier 
than  this  the  weather  is  apt  to  be  too  hot  for  the  ready  germination  of  the  seed,  and 
weeds  will  get  a  start  before  the  grass.  The  first  half  of  September  is  a  good  time, 
and  we  have  sometimes  had  very  good  success  with  seeding  as  late  as  October  1,  but 
would  prefer  to  sow  earlier  if  possible.  If  rye  is  sown  with  the  grass  seed  it  is  best 
done  about  the  middle  of  September;  too  much  rye  will  choke  the  grass,  but  a  light 
seeding  of  about  oue-half  to  five-eighths  of  a  bushel  per  acre  will  not  injure  the 
grass  much,  and  will  give  a  much  better  return  the  next  season  than  the  grass  alone. 

Too  little  care  is  usually  bestowed  upon  the  preparation  of  the  laud  for  seeding : 
it  should  be  worked  only  when  just  moist  enough  to  make  the  lumps  crush  easily,  ami 
should  be  harrowed  repeatedly  and  rolled  before  sowing  the  seed,  then  brushed  and 
rolled  again,  which  will  leave  the  land  in  fine,  smooth  order  for  the  mowing-machine 
or  scythe. 

It  is  customary  to  mix  Herd's  grass,  redtop,  and  clover  seed  in  seeding,  but  we 
prefer  to  seed  high  land  with  Herd's  grass  (Phleum  pratense)  only  low,  moist  land 
with  redtop  (Agrosiis  vulgaris)  and  fescue,  and  clove"  by  itself  in  the  spring,  for  the 
3594  GR 2 


18 

that  the  season  of  maturity  of  the-'   grai is  very  different ;  the  clovershould 

be  cat  about  the  15th  of  June  while  in  blossom,  the  Herd's  grass  aboat  Jnly  1,  and 
the  redtop  about  July  15.     When  they  are  mixed  it  will  he  impossible  to  cut  them 

all  in  perfection  ;  and  if  the  Herd's  grass  is  cut  too  early  in  dry  weather  it  is  almost 
Bure  to  be  killed  out. 

Mi.  T.  C.  Alvord,  of  Vermont,  writes  in  the  Boston  Cultivator  as  fol- 
lows : 

For  a  number  of  years  past  I  have  sown  grass  seed  only  in  the  spring.  On  such 
lands  as  I  wish  to  seed  down  without  grain  I  tit  my  laud  in  the  fall  if  I  can.  as  that 
saves  valuable  time  in  the  spring  ;  but  if  I  do  not  have  time  to  perform  the  work  in 
the  fall,  I  tit  the  land  as  early  as  I  can  in  the  spring,  sowing  the  seed  then.  On  all  lauds 
that  I  seed  down  I  finish  working  the  land  before  the  seed  is  sown,  never  covering 
the  seed.  I  think  where  grass  seed  is  harrowed,  raked,  or  brushed  in  much  of  the 
seed  is  covered  so  deep  that  it  never  comes  up. 

Many  people  think  that  grass  seed  sown  in  the  spring  will  not  make  a  good  crop  of 
hay  the  first  season,  and  that  it  requires  two  seasons  to  do  it.  This  is  an  error.  On 
all  the  lands  that  I  have  sown  with  grass  seed  in  the  spring  the  grass  has  been  ripe 
enough  to  cut  in  from  ten  to  twelve  weeks  from  the  time  the  seed  was  sown,  while  I 
invariably  get  better  crops  than  I  do  when  I  seed  down  with  grain.  If  the  grain  lodges 
it  will  kill  the  grass,  and  if  the  weather  is  dry  the  grass  will  dry  up,  while  in  both 
eases  the  land  will  need  reseeding;  also  weeds  aud  foul  grasses  will  occupythe  soil. 

If  grass  seed  is  sown  by  itself  in  the  spring  it  will  generally  get  so  good  a  start  that 
no  ordinary  dry  or  hot  weather  in  the  summer  will  injure  the  crop.  When  seeding 
laud  in  this  way  a  sufficient  quantity  of  seed  should  be  sown,  so  that  if  it  all  grows 
the  land  will  be  all  occupied  with  grass,  thus  preventing  the  growth  of  weeds,  also 
giving  a  large  yield  with  a  better  quality  of  grass,  while  forming  a  thicker  turf  to 
be  turned  under  for  the  enrichment  of  the  soil  when  the  land  is  again  plowed. 

On  all  lands  which  I  have  seeded  in  this  way  the  first  crop  of  hay  has  averaged 
two  tons  per  acre. 

Reseeding  Old  and  Worn-out  Meadows. — We  have  already  stated  that  all 
wet  lands  with  a  clay  subsoil  should  be  subjected  to  a  system  of  tile 
drainage,  but  in  some  cases  a  temporary  substitute  may  be  found  in  a 
certain  manner  of  plowing,  as  is  detailed  in  the  following  communica- 
tion from  a  correspondent  of  the  American  Cultivator: 

I  will  state  my  experience,  in  brief,  on  cold,  wet,  swale-land  lhat  was  once  a  black- 
ash  swamp.  The  grass  was  so  light  and  wild  it  did  not  pay  for  cutting.  Immedi- 
ately after  haying  I  plowed  it  in  deep  wide  furrows,  being  sure  to  lap  them  and  turn 
ilat  over.  I  took  pains  to  make  dead  furrows  where  they  should  be.  aud  also  a  clear 
outlet  at  the  lower  end  of  the  furrows.  I  harrowed  lightly  with  a  hue  harrow,  and 
went  over  the  field  with  a  hoe  aud  tixed  the  loose  sod.  and  top-dressed  with  a  light 
coat  of  manure  and  gravelly  loam  scraped  up  in  the  milking  yard,  and  sowed  on  a 
mixture  of  redtop.  timothy,  and  English  flat  turnip  seed,  then  brushed  lightly. 
Now  for  results:  In  the  first  place.  I  harvested  turnips  enough  from  the  piece  to  pay 
for  the  labor  of  plowing  and  fitting  the  piece,  and  the  next  harvest  I  cut  the  heaviest 
burden  of  hay  from  that  land  that  I  ever  saw  on  any  meadow  :  it  was  waist-high  and 
very  thick.  I  accounted  for  it  in  this  way.  the  land  was  thoroughly  drained  by  the 
spaces  left  between  the  furrows,  aud  the  decaying  sod  provided  a  rich,  warm  seed- 
bed above  the  cold,  wet,  hard-pan.  a  portion  of  which  had  been  brought  to  the  sur- 
face by  the  deep  plowing.  Of  course  a  roller  would  not  have  been  tolerated  on  the 
piece,  as  it  would  have  been  detrimental  to  the  best  results.  I  wanted  to  get  the 
land  up  and  keep  it  up  as  long  as  I  could,  and  let  it  breathe  by  leaving  space  for  air 
t.»  pass  in  under  and  come  up  through  :  and  I  believe  that  if  such  land  was  plowed 
in  that  way  clear  up  to  freezing  time  and  seeded  then  or  left  until  early  spriug,  when 
clover  seed  could  be  added,  most  excellent  results  would  follow. 


GENERAL  DESCRIPTION  OF  GRASSES. 


A  grass  possesses  the  following  parts  :  (1)  The  root,  (2)  the  stem,  (3) 
the  leaves,  (4)  the  flowers. 

(1)  The  roots  are  the  fibrous  branching  organs  which  extend  down- 
ward into  the  ground  and  appropriate  the  water  or  other  liquid  nutri- 
ment to  be  conveyed  into  the  stem  aud  leaves. 

(2)  A  stem  that  rises  above  ground,  either  erect,  ascending,  or  re- 
clining, is  called  a  culm.  In  some  species,  in  addition  to  the  culm, 
there  are  horizontal  subterranean  stems,  improperly  called  roots.  They 
are  known  botanically  as  rhizomes,  and  are  sometimes  several  feet  long. 
They  may  be  distinguished  from  the  true  roots  by  their  bearing  a 
greater  or  less  number  of  scales  and  sending  out  erect  branches  as 
well  as  fibrous  roots.  In  some  grasses  there  is  a  kind  of  bulb  at  the 
base  of  the  stem,  in  whieh  is  stored  a  concentrated  mass  of  food  for 
the  support  of  the  plant  under  peculiar  circumstances,  as  in  protracted 
drought.  This  bulbous  formation  is  a  part  of  the  stem,  and  not  of  the 
root.  The  stem  or  culm  of  grasses  is  usually  cylindrical  and  hollow  ; 
sometimes  it  is  more  or  less  compressed  or  flattened.  It  is  divided  at 
intervals  by  transverse  thickened  portions  called  joiuts  or  nodes,  at 
which  points  leaves  and  sometimes  branches  are  given  off.  These 
nodes  tend  also  to  strengthen  the  stem.  Stems  are  usually  simple  and 
unbrauched,  except  at  the  top,  where  they  commonly  divide  into  the 
more  or  less  numerous  branches  of  the  panicle  or  flowering  part.  But 
some  stems  give  rise  from  the  side  joints  to  leafy  branches,  which  may, 
like  the  main  stem,  produce  smaller  panicles  at  the  top. 

(3)  The  leaves  take  their  origin  at  the  nodes  or  joints  in  two  ranks — 
that  is,  they  are  placed  alternately  on  opposite  sides  of  the  stem  at 
greater  or  less  distances;  thus,  the  first  leaf  will  be  on  one  side,  the 
second  on  the  opposite  side  a  little  higher  up,  the  third  still  higher  and 
directly  over  the  first,  the  fourth  over  the  second,  and  so  on.  The  leaves 
consist  of  three  parts:  (1)  the  sheath,  (2)  the  ligule,  and  (3)  the  blade. 
The  sheath  is  that  part  which  clasps  the  stem.  It  is  generally  open  on 
one  side,  as  will  be  readily  observed  in  the  leaves  of  a  corn-stalk,  but  in 
some  grasses  the  sheath  is  partly  or  even  completely  closed  together 
by  the  adhesion  of  the  opposite  edges.  The  sheath  is  analogous  to  the 
stem  or  petiole  of  the  leaves  of  many  higher  plants.  At  the  point  where 
the  blade  of  the  leaf  leaves  the  stem,  at  the  top  of  the  sheath  and  cr 

19 


20 

the  inner  side,  there  is  usually  a  small,  thin,  membranous  organ,  called 
the  ligule  or  tongue.  This  is  sometimes  naif  an  inch  long,  more  com- 
monly only  two  or  three  lines,  and  sometimes  it  is  almost  absent  or  re- 
duced to  a  short  ring,  but  its  length  and  size  are  very  constant  in  the 
same  species.  This  ligule  represents  the  stipules  which  occur  at  the 
base  of  the  leaves  iu  many  of  the  higher  plants.  The  blade  or  lamina 
is  the  expanded  part  of  the  leaf,  but  is  usually  called  by  the  general 
name  leaf.  In  the  majority  of  grasses  the  leaf  is  long  and  narrow ;  that 
is,  many  times  longer  than  wide.  There  is  one  central  nerve,  called  the 
midnerve  or  midrib,  extending  to  the  point  of  the  leaf,  with  numerous 
finer  nerves  on  each  side  running  parallel  to  it,  and  not  connected  by 
conspicuous  transverse  nerves  nor  giving  off  branches.  These  leaves  are 
in  some  species  rough,  in  others  smooth,  hairy,  or  downy,  etc.  The  agri- 
cultural value  of  a  grass  depends  mainly  upon  the  quantity,  quality, 
size,  and  nutritive  properties  of  the  leaves. 

(4)  The  flowers  of  the  grasses  are  generally  at  the  end  of  the  stem  or 
the  side  branches,  sometimes  very  few  in  number,  sometimes  in  great 
abundance,  sometimes  in  a  close  spike,  and  sometimes  in  a  panicle,  with 
many  spreading  branches  or  rays.  The  flowers  may  be  single  on  the 
branches  or  on  the  pedicels,  or  they  may  be  variously  clustered.  In 
the  common  redtop  (Agrostis  alba  or  A.  vulgaris)  there  is  a  single  flower 
at  the  end  of  each  of  the  small  branchlets  of  the  panicle.  Each  of  these 
flowers  is  inclosed  by  a  pair  of  small  leaf-like  scales  or  chaff,  called  the 
outer  or  einpty  glumes.  The  flower  consists  of  (1)  the  essential  organs 
and  (2)  the  envelopes.  The  essential  organs  are  the  stamens  and  pistils, 
which  may  readily  be  seen  when  the  grass  is  in  bloom.  The  stamens, 
of  which  there  are  usually  three  in  each  flower,  consist  of  the  anther  and 
filament,  the  anther  being  the  small  organ  which  contains  the  pollen  or 
dust  which  fertilizes  the  pistil  or  female  organ,  and  the  filament  being 
the  thread-like  stem  on  which  the  anther  is  borne. 

The  pistil  is  the  central  organ  of  the  flower,  and  consists  of  three 
parts ;  the  ovary,  the  style,  and  the  stigmas.  In  most  grasses  the  style 
is  divided  into  two  branches.  The  stigmas  are  the  delicate  organs, 
usually  of  a  plumose  form,  at  the  extremities  of  these  branches,  which 
receive  the  pollen  for  the  fertilization  of  the  flower;  and  the  ovary  is 
that  part  at  the  base  which  contains  the  future  seed. 

The  envelopes  of  the  flower  are  usually  two  leaf  like  scales  or  husks, 
inclosing  between  them  the  stamens  and  pistil.  These  scales  lace  each 
other,  one  being  a  very  little  higher  on  the  axis  than  the  other,  and  also 
usually  smaller  and  more  delicate  in  texture.  This  smaller  scale  is 
called  the  palet;  the  other  larger  and  usually  coarser  one  the  flowering 
glume;  its  edges  generally  overlap  and  partly  inclose  the  palet. 

The  flower  constituted  as  above  described,  together  with  the  pair  of 
outer  or  empty  glumes  at  the  base,  form  what  is  called  a  spikelet.  In 
many  cases,  however,  there  are  two,  three,  or  more  flowers,  sometimes 
even  ten  to  twenty,  in  one  spikelet.  in  which  case  they  are  arranged 


21 

alternately  on  opposite  sides  of  the  axis,  one  above  the  other,  with  a 

pair  of  empty  or  outer  glumes  at  the  base  of  the  cluster.     Such  may  be 

seen  in  the  blue  grass  (Poa pratensis),  fescue  grass  (Festuca)  and  many 

others. 

There  are  innumerable  modifications  of  these  floral  organs,  and  upon 

the  differences  which  exist  in  them  the  distinctions  of  genera  and  species 

are  based.     In  some  cases  the  glumes  are  entire  in  outline,  in  some  they 

are  toothed  and  lobed,  and  sometimes  running  out  into  a  slender  point 

called  an  awn,  sometimes  with  a  bristle  or  awn  on  the  back,  etc.    They 

also  vary  in  size  from  the  twentieth  part  of  an  inch  to  an  inch  or  more 

in  length. 

PLATE  l. 

Fig.  1.  1,  fibrous  roots ;  4,  culm;  5,  node ;  6,  leaf. 

2.  2,  rhizoma;  4,  culm  ;  6,  blade  of  leaf;  7,  ligule ;  9,  scales  of  the  rhizoma. 

3.  1,  root  libers;  3,  bulbous  base  of  culm  ;  4,  culm  ;  5,  sheath  ;  (5,  blade. 

4.  2,  scaly  rhizomas;  4,  node;  G,  blade;  7,  ligule  ;  9,  scales  of  the  rhizoma. 

5.  1,  fibrous  roots;  2,  creeping  rhizoma:  4,  culm;  5,  sheath  :  G,  blade;  7,  calm; 

8,  nodes. 

PLATE  2. 

The  numbers  in  each  of  the  figures  are  as  follows:  1,  sheath  ;  2,  blade ;  3,  culm  :  4, 
node,  or  joint;  5,  ligule. 
The  ligule  is  best  shown  in  the  lower  right-hand  figure. 

PLATE  3. 

Fig.     1.  A  dense  spike  (Alopecurus  pratensis). 

2.  An  elongated,  one-sided  spike  (Paspalum  dilatatum). 

3.  Spike  (Hordeum  prateuse). 

4.  Spike  (Agropyrum  repens). 

5.  Spike  (Elymus  condensatus). 

G.  Spike  (Bouteloua  polystaehya). 

7.  Spike  (Bouteloua  oligostachya). 

8.  Panicle  (Panicum  Crus-galli). 

9.  Panicle  (Agrostis  exarata). 

10.  Panicle  (Koeleria  cristata). 

11.  Panicle  (Distichlis  maritima). 

12.  Panicle  (Bromus  secaliuus). 

13.  Panicle  (Hierochloa  borealis). 

14.  Panicle  (Poa  pratensis). 

15.  Panicle  (Dactylis  glomerata). 

PLATE  4. 

Fig.    1.  Two  spikelets,  one  closed,  one  opened,  of  Agrostis  vulgaris. 

2.  Two  spikelets,  one  closed,  one  opened,  of  Agrostis  exarata. 

3.  Two  spikelets,  one  closed,  one  opened,  of  Sporobolus  Indicus. 

4.  An  opened  spikelet  of  Calamagrostis  Canadensis. 

5.  Two  spikelets,  one  closed,  one  opened,  of  Phleum  prateuse. 

6.  Two  spikelets,  one  closed,  one  opened,  of  Muhlenbergia  diffusa. 

7.  Two  spikelets,  one  closed,  one  opened,  of  Paspalum  dilatatum. 

8.  Two  spikelets,  one  closed,  one  opened,  of  Paspalum  laeve. 

9.  A  spikelet  of  Aristida  purpurea. 

10.  Two  spikelets,  one  closed,  one  opened,  of  Setaria  setosa. 


22 

Fig.  11.  Two  spikelets,  one  closed,  one  opened,  of  Setaria  glauca. 

12.  Two  spikelets,  one  closed,  one  opened,  of  Alopecurns  pratensis. 
i;>.  Two  spikelets,  one  closed,  one  opened,  of  Holcns  lanatus. 

14.  A  spikelet  of  Deschampsia  csBspitosa  and  one  of  its  flowers. 

15.  A  spikelet  of  Poa  serotina  and  one  of  its  flowers. 

16.  A  spikelet  of  Bromns  erectus  and  one  of  its  flowers. 

17.  The  male  and  female  spikelets  of  Buchloe   dactyloides,  the  former  hoth 

closed  and  opened. 

PASPALUM. 

In  this  genns  the  panicle  does  not  divide  into  numerous  slender  branches  as  in 
many  other  kinds,  hut  the  flowers  are  arranged  in  several  rows  on  one  side  of  a  nar- 
row, flattened  branch,  called  a  rhachis.  Each  flower  consists  of  two  empty  glumes 
of  equal  or  nearly  equal  length,  of  a  dowering  glume  of  a  thickish,  hard  texture,  the 
edges  of  which  overlap  a  palet  of  similar  texture,  and  between  these  two  are  inclosed 
the  stamens  and  pistils. 

This  genus  has  its  range  principally  in  the  Southern  and  Southwest- 
ern States.  The  species  aie  very  numerous,  are  mostly  perennial,  and 
vary  much  in  form  and  habit.  Some  are  tall  and  ereet,  some  decum- 
bent or  spreading,  and  others  have  the  habit  of  sending  out  runners, 
which  take  root  at  short  intervals  and  thus  spread  and  form  dense 
patches.  They  are  all  relished  by  cattle,  and  some  of  them  are  consid- 
ered valuable  as  pasture  grasses. 

Paspalum  dilatatum. 

This  may  be  called  the  hairy-flowered  Paspalum.  It  has  been  found 
native  in  Virginia,  Tenuessee,  Alabama,  Mississippi,  Louisiana,  and 
Texas,  and  has  been  introduced  iuto  other  States.  It  also  occurs  in 
South  America.  It  grows  from  2  to  5  feet  high,  with  numerous  leaves 
about  a  foot  in  length  and  one-third  to  one  half  an  inch  in  breadth.  It 
does  not  creep  upon  the  ground  like  the  following  species,  but  is  in- 
clined to  grow  in  tufts,  which  may  attain  considerable  size.  It  is  rec- 
ommended both  for  pasture  and  hay  by  the  few  who  have  tried  it. 

This  species  has  also  been  called  Paspalum  ovatum,  but  the  name 
above  given,  having  been  first  applied,  is  the  proper  one. 

Charles  X.  Ely,  Smith  Point,  southeastern  Texas,  says  : 

Paspalum  dilatatum  was  brought  to  this  country  about  twelve  years  ago.  and  planted 
by  S.  B.  YVallis.  It  is  a  promising  grass  for  hay  and  pasture,  growing  best  on  moist 
lands,  but  doing  well  on  upland.  It  is  easily  subdued  by  cultivation,  and  is  not  in- 
clined to  encroach  on  cultivated  lauds.  It  is  best  propagated  by  roots  or  sets,  the 
seed  not  being  reliable.  It  is  rather  slow  in  starting,  but  when  well  rooted  it  spreads 
and  overcomes  all  other  grasses.  Tramping  and  grazing  is  more  of  an  advantage  to 
it  than  otherwise.  I  think  that  this  grass  will  succeed  in  a  great  variety  of  soils  and 
climates,  but  those  planting  it  must  have  patience  with  it  at  first. 

.Mr.  Wallis,  above  referred  to,  says: 

This  I  consider  the  most  valuable  of  all  the  grasses  with  which  I  am  acquainted  :  it 
is  perennial  and  grows  here  all  the  year  round,  furnishing  excellent  green  feed  for 
stock  at  all  seasons,  except  that  the  green  blades  freeze  in  our  coldest  weather  per- 
haps two  or  three  times  in  a  winter.  It  increases  rapidly  from  seels,  and  also  repro- 
duces itself  from  suckers,  which  sprout  from  the  nodes  of  the  culm  after  the  first  crop 


23 

of  seed  has  ripened.  I  have  seen  those  suckers  remain  green  for  six  or  eight  weeks 
■iter  the  old  stalks  were  as  dead  and  dry  as  hay,  and  then,  when  the  old  stalks  had 
fallen  to  the  ground,  take  root  and  form  new  plants.  It  grows  well  on  all  kinds  of 
dry  land.  Plants  two  or  three  years  old  form  stools  12  to  18  inches  across.  The  grass 
has  very  strong  roots  and  grows  in  the  longest  drought  almost  as  last  as  when  it 
rains. 

(Plate  5.) 

Paspalum  platycaule. 

This  has'sometimes  been  called  Louisiana  grass.  It  occurs  in  all  the 
Gulf  States  and  iu  the  West  Indies  and  South  America.  It  grows  flat 
on  the  ground  rooting,  at  every  joint,  and  forming  at  the  South  a  thick, 
permanent,  evergreen  sod.  It  does  well  on  almost  any  upland  soil, 
and  is  said  to  stand  drought  better  than  Bermuda  grass.  It  usually 
grows  too  short  and  close  to  the  ground  for  hay,  but  for  grazing  it  ap- 
parently has  many  good  properties.  It  may  be  distinguished  from  the 
other  Paspalums  and  from  Bermuda  grass  by  its  flattened  stems  (whence 
the  uaine)  and  the  very  slender  seed  stalks,  each  bearing  only  two  or 
three  very  narrow,  somewhat  upright  spikes.  The  leaves,  especially  on 
the  long  runners,  are  short  and  blunt. 

The  facts  of  its  being  a  perennial  and  seeding  freely,  of  its  doing- 
better  than  any  other  grass  on  poor  soil,  forming  a  compact  tuft  to  the 
exclusion  of  other  plants,  and  of  its  being  easily  killed  by  cultivation, 
will  doubtless  recommend  it  for  more  extended  growth. 

Dr.  Charles  Mohr,  Mobile,  Ala.,  says : 

It  has  taken  a  firm  foot-hold  in  this  section.  It  is  perfectly  hardy,  prefers  damp 
localities,  and  surfers  somewhat  from  long  droughts.  It  grows  best  in  a  sandy  loam, 
rather  close,  compact,  and  damp,  in  exposed  situations,  as  it  does  not  stand  shade 
well.  It  stands  browsing  and  tramping  well,  and  is  greedily  eaten  by  all  kinds  of 
stock.    Its  vegetation  begins  earlier  in  spring  than  that  of  Bermuda. 

G.  A.  Frierson,  Frierson's  Mill,  La.,  in  the  Southern  Live  Stock  Jour- 
nal, says : 

It  grows  everywhere  in  rather  low,  wet,  clay  lands,  and  stands  grazing  as  well  or 
better  than  Bermuda. 

B.  H.  Brodnax,  Morehouse  Parish,  La. : 

Paspalum  platycaule  was  first  noticed  here  about  1870  in  very  small  patches.  Since 
then  it  has  spread  rapidly  from  seed.  It  is  not  cultivated.  It  stands  frost  very  well 
when  firmly  rooted,  staying  green  nearly  all  winter,  and  it  stands  drought  splendidly. 
It  grows  best  on  a  poor  quality  of  land  high  above  overflow,  or  where  water  could 
not  stand  on  it.  It  is  a  splendid  pasture  grass,  making  a  sod  equal  to  Bermuda,  but 
it  is  not  cut  for  hay.     It  is  very  easily  destroyed,  one  plowing  being  sufficient  to  kill  it. 

Mr.  Prentice  Bailey,  of  Baker  County,  northern  Florida,  sends  a 
specimen  of  Paspalum  platycaule  for  identification,  and  says  of  it: 

On  all  old  roads,  where  travel  has  killed  the  other  grasses  and  packed  the  soil,  it 
covers  the  ground  with  a  close,  even  turf;  it  forms  such  a  thick  turf  that  it  is  called 
here  "blanket  grass."  The  cattle  in  the  woods  are  so  fond  of  it  and  keep  it  eaten  down 
so  close,  that  it  is  difficult  to  find  any  of  it  more  than  2  or  3  inches  in  height,  but  on 


24 

good  ground  in  protected  places  it  grows  to  the  height  of  several  feet.     It  is  only  par- 
tially killed  through  the  winter.     From  the  avidity  with  which  it  is  eaten  by  all. 
kinds  of  stock,  the  closeness  of  turf  formed,  its  ability  to  resist  almost  any  amount  of 
tramping,  and  its  rapidity  of  growth  I  think  that  it  is  a  most  valuable  grass  for  this 
country. 

Mr.  F.  W.  Thurow,  of  Harris  Comity,  Tex.,  says  that  at  present  Pas- 
palum  platyeaule  furnishes  about  five-eighths  of  the  pasturage  in  south- 
eastern Texas,  forming  a  dense  sod.  Stock  of  all  kinds  seem  to  relish 
it,  but  is  not  as  nutritious  as  Bermuda  grass.     (Plate  6.) 

Paspalum  distichum. 

Several  species  of  Paspalum  have  received  attention  in  the  South  as 
being  useful  pasture  grasses  and  very  durable  from  their  creeping  and 
rooting  habit.  Paspalum  distichum  is  one  of  these  species.  It  grows 
principally  in  low,  moist  ground.  Its  stems  and  culms  are  mostly  pros- 
trate and  running,  sending  up  here  and  there  a  few  flower-bearing 
culms.  It  is  found  in  the  Southern  States  and  Texas,  thence  to  Cali- 
fornia. Farther  south  it  is  found  in  most  tropical  countries.  Mr.  W. 
A.  Sanders,  of  Fresno  County,  Cal.,  writes  recently  as  follows  : 

Are  you  aware  of  the  value  of  Pasj)aliim  distichum  for  seeding  pond-holes  that  dry 
up  or  nearly  so  in  autumn  ?  Such  ponds  are  usually  spots  of  bare,  stinking  mud,  but 
when  well  set  to  this  grass  will  yield  all  the  way  up  to  80  tons  (in  the  green  state)  of 
autumn  feed  for  stock,  especially  valuable  for  cows  first,  then  follow  with  sheep  till 
every  vestige  is  devoured.     Surely  it  has  an  immense  food  value  in  such  places. 

(Plate  7.) 

BECKMANNIA. 

Beckmannia  erucaeformis  (Slough  Grass). 

This  genus  is  closely  related  to  Panicum  and  has  considerable  re- 
semblance to  some  forms  of  Panicum  Grus-galli.  It  grows  abundantly 
in  the  Rocky  Mountain  Region  from  California  and  Oregon  eastward 
as  far  as  Iowa  and  Minnesota.  It  is  found  in  marshy  ground  and  in 
sloughs,  particularly  in  the  neighborhood  of  streams. 

It  usually  grows  in  tufts,  and  is  of  a  coarse  growth,  the  stout,  roughish 
culms  rising*  to  about  3  feet  in  height;  the  thickish  leaves  are  about 
half  an  inch  wide  and  6  to  8  inches  long.  These,  as  well  as  the  loose, 
long  sheaths,  are  strongly  marked  with  numerous  parallel  veins.  The 
panicle  is  generally  long  and  narrow,  from  6  to  10  inches  long,  and  half 
an  inch  to  an  inch  wide,  composed  mostly  of  many  very  short,  closely- 
set  branches,  which  are  more  or  less  interrupted  below  where  the 
branches  are  generally  longer,  sometimes  2  inches  long  and  erect. 

The  spikelets  are  crowded  very  closely  together  on  the  one  sided 
spikes,  and  each  one  consists  of  a  pair  of  thickish,  compressed,  inflated, 
boat-shaped,  empty  glumes,  and  between  these,  one  lanceolate,  acute 
flowering  glume,  of  thinner  texture,  with  its  still  thinner  palet,  and  the 
stamens  and  styles.  These  are  represented  in  plate  8,  a  showing  an 
enlarged  spikelet,  b  the  same  expanded  to  show  the  separate  parts.     In 


25 

some  localities  tbis  grass  is  abundant  and  forms  a  valuable  resource  for 
stock.  The  bottom  leaves  and  sterile  shoots  are  tender  and  much  rel- 
ished.   (Plate  8.) 

PANICUM. 

In  tliis  genus  the  mode  of  inflorescence  is  very  variable,  but  most  of  the  species 
have  a  spreading,  much-branched  panicle,  the  terminal  branchlets  of  which  have 
spikelets  of  a  single  perfect  llower,  or  in  some  cases  with  a  lower  male  or  i  in  per  fed 
flower  also.  There  are  two  or  three  empty  glumes,  the  lower  one  generally  much 
shorter  than  the  others;  the  perfect  llower  has  a  thick,  hard  glume  with  a  palet 
similar  in  texture,  and  with  the  stamens  and  pistil  inclosed  between  them.  The 
other  imperfect  flower  when  present  has  a  glume  similar  to  the  empty  ones. 

The  name  is  probably  derived  from  the  Latin  word  jpawis,  bread,  be- 
cause some  of  the  species  were  used,  and  are  still  used,  for  bread- making. 
The  species  of  this  genus  are  very  numerous  (more  than  three  hundred 
on  the  globe),  and  of  widely  different  appearance.  We  have  about  fifty 
native  species,  most  of  which  have  little  practical  value  except  as  adding 
more  or  less  to  the  wild  forage  of  our  woods  and  fields.  But  some 
species,  both  native  and  foreign,  are  of  very  high  agricultural  value*. 

Panicum  maximum  (True  Guinea  Grass). 

This  is  a  native  of  Africa,  which  has  been  introduced  into  many 
tropical  countries,  and  in  the  West  Indies  is  extensively  cultivated. 
It  has  been  brought  into  Florida  and  other  places  along  the  Gulf  coast, 
but  is  little  known  in  the  United  States.  It  requires  a  long  season,  is 
very  susceptible  to  frost,  and  ripens  seed  only  in  the  warmest  part  of 
the  country.  It  has  often  been  confounded  with  Johnson  grass,  which 
is  very  different.  A  sufficient  point  of  distinction  is  the  fact  that  John- 
son grass  spreads  by  underground  stems,  while  Guinea  grass  does  not, 
but  remains  in  bunches. 

Its  chief  value  is  for  hay  or  soiling,  and  it  should  be  cut  frequently 
to  prevent  it  becoming  too  hard  and  coarse.  It  grows  tall  and  rank, 
reaches  the  height  of  6  or  8  feet  when  mature,  and  yields  a  seed  much 
resembling  millet.  It  is  not  adapted  to  the  climate  of  the  Northern 
States.     Panicum  jumentorum  is  a  synonym.     (Plate  0.) 

Panicum  Texanum  (Texas  Millet). 

This  grass  is  a  native  of  Texas,  and  was  first  described  and  named 
in  1866  by  Prof.  S.  B.  Buckley,  in  his  preliminary  report  of  the  "Geo- 
graphical and  Agricultural  Survey  of  Texas."  It  is  frequently  called 
Colorado  grass,  from  its  abundance  along  the  Colorado  River  in  that 
State.  In  some  localities  it  is  known  as  river  grass  •  in  others  as  goose 
grass,  from  its  being  supposed  to  have  been  introduced  by  wild  geese. 
In  southern  Texas  it  is  sometimes  called  buffalo  grass,  and  in  Fayette 
County  it  is  known  as  Austin  grass  from  the  fact  that  it  was  first  util- 
ized as  hay  near  Austin. 

The  most  numerous  and  'favorable  reports  regarding  it  are  from 
Lampasas,  Burnet,  and  Travis  Counties,  along  the  Colorado  River,  and 


26 

southward  through  the  central  part  of  the  State.  From  no  grass,  so 
little  known,  have  more  favorable  reports  been  received,  especially 
from  the  section  in  which  it  is  most  abundant.  It  is  but  little  known 
outside  of  Texas.  Of  the  thirty  five  valuable  reports  in  regard  to  it, 
all  but  six  were  from  that  State,  and  most  of  them  from  the  region 
above  indicated. 

The  grass  is  an  annual,  growing  usually  from  2  to  4  feet  high,  and  is 
especially  valuable  for  hay.  It  prefers  rich  alluvial  soils,  but  stands 
drought  well,  though  on  dry  uplands  its  yield  is  much  reduced.  The 
plant  is  furnished  with  an  abundance  of  rather  short  and  broad  leaves, 
and  the  stems,  which  are  rather  weak,  are  often  produced  in  consider- 
able number  from  a  single  root,  and  where  the  growth  is  rank  are  in- 
clined 1o  be  decumbent  at  the  base.  It  is  valuable  for  all  purposes  for 
which  the  ordinary  millets  are  used,  and  should  be  tried  throughout 
the  South.  In  Texas,  where  most  largely  grown,  it  generally  over- 
comes other  grasses  and  weeds;  but  in  some  of  the  other  Southern 
States  crab  grass  and  weeds  have  interfered  with  its  growth.  It  has 
not  been  much  cultivated  in  the  Northern  States,  but  is  deserving  of  a 
trial ;  as  with  a  good  season  it  will  probably  be  more  productive  than, 
and  of  superior  quality  to,  common  Hungarian  millet.     (Plate  10.) 

Panicum  proliferum,  var.  geniculatuni. 

This  variety  occurs  in  the  Southern  States,  where  it  is  sometimes 
called  u sprouting  crab  grass. "  It  is  an  annual,  growing  in  low,  moist 
ground.  The  stems  are  first  erect,  then  become  decumbent  and  spread- 
ing, frequently  attaining  a  length  of  G  or  7  feet,  bent  and  rooting  at  the 
lower  joiuts.  It  has  much  the  same  habit  as  P.  Te.canum,  but  the  stems 
are  smooth  and  more  flattened;  the  leaves  also  are  smoother  and  longer. 
The  stems  are  sometimes  nearly  an  inch  thick  at  the  base  and  very  suc- 
culent. The  main  stem  is  terminated  by  a  diffuse  panicle  sometimes 
2  feet  long. 

Dr.  Charles  Mohr,  of  Mobile,  says  of  it : 

In  damp,  grassy  places  it  prefers  rich  ground  throughout  the  coast  region.  It  com- 
mences to  vegetate  vigorously  in  the  hottest  part  of  the  summer,  throwing  out 
numerous  shoots  from  the  joints,  forming  large-branched  bushes.  The  foliage  is  rich 
and  tender;  and  the  succulent,  thick  stems  are  sweet  and  juicy.  After  cutting,  it 
throws  out  numerous  sprouts  from  the  lower  joints,  which  grow  rapidly,  so  as  to 
allow  repeated  cuttings  until  frost.  It  is  through  all  stages  of  its  growth  much  rel- 
ished by  horses  and  cattle. 

(Plate  11.) 

Panicum  barbinode  (Para  Grass). 

This  species  has  been  introduced  from  South  America  in  some  locali- 
ties of  the  Southern  States.  Id  Cuba  it  is  cultivated  and  highly  valued 
for  its  prolific  growth  and  nutritive  properties.  It  is  not  adapted  to 
culture  in  the  Northern  States.  It  is  a  coarse,  reed-like  grass,  that 
looks  as  if  it  should  grow  in  the  water;  Vjut  it  makes  a  heavy  growth 
on  the  high  pine  ridges  of  Florida.     (Plate  12.) 


27 

Panicum  miliaceum. 

This  is  the  millet  grass  of  India,  or  at  least  one  of  the  Indian  millets. 
It  has,  in  Asia,  been  cultivated  for  ages,  and  is,  in  many  parts,  an 
important  article  in  the  food  supply  of  the  natives.  It  is  also  cultivated 
in  Egypt,  Turkey,  and  Southern  Europe.  It  has  been  cultivated  to  a 
limited  extent  in  this  country  for  forage,  and  will  thrive  and  ripen  in 
the  Xorthern  as  well  as  the  Southern  States. 

Mr.  Charles  L.  Flint  says  : 

Millet  is  one  of  the  best  crops  we  have  for  cutting  and  feeding  green  for  soiling 
purposes,  since  its  yield  is  large,  its  luxuriant  leaves  juicy  and  tender  and  much 
relished  by  milch  cows  and  other  stock.  The  seed  is  rich  in  nutritive  qualities,  but 
it  is  very  seldom  ground  or  used  for  flour,  though  it  is  said  to  exceed  all  other  kinds 
of  meal  or  flonr  in  nutritive  elements.  An  acre  well  cultivated  will  yield  from  60 
to  70  bushels  of  seed.  Cut  in  the  blossoms,  as  it  should  be  for  t'et  ding  to  cuttle,  the 
seed  is  comparatively  valueless.  If  allowed  to  ripen  its  seed,  the  stalk  is  no  more# 
nutritious,  probably,  than  oat  straw,     it  is  well  adapted  to  culture  in  dry  region*. 

(riate  13.) 
Panicum  Crus-galli  (Barnyard  Grass). 

This  is  an  annual  grass,  with. thick,  stout  culms  usually  from  2  to  4 
feet  high.  In  the  Southern  States  it  is  often  employed,  and  is  consid- 
ered a  valuable  grass.     Professor  Phtires,  of  Mississippi,  says: 

In  that  and  some  other  States  it  is  mowed  annually,  and  is  said  sometimes  to  fur- 
nish four  or  five  tons  of  hay  per  acre.  It  annually  reseeds  the  ground  and  requires 
no  cultivation  or  other  care,  save  protection  from  stock  and  the  labor  of  harvesting. 
In  one  county  in  Mississippi  hundreds  of  acres  are  annually  mowed  on  single  farms. 
Cows  and  horses  are  very  fond  of  it  whether  green  or  dry. 

In  the  Northern  States  it  is  seldom  employed.     (Plate  14.) 

Panicum  sanguinale  (Crab  Grass). 

This  is  an  annual  grass,  which,  although  a  native  of  the  Old  Worla, 
has  become  spread  over  most  parts  of  this  country,  and  indeed  over  all 
tropical  countries.  It  is  the  most  common  crab  grass  of  the  Southern 
States.  It  occurs  in  cultivated  and  waste  grounds,  and  grows  very 
rapidly  during  the  hot  summer  months.  The  culms  usually  rise  to  the 
height  of  2  or  3  feet,  and  at  the  summit  have  from  three  to  six  slender 
flower  spikes,  each  from  4  to  6  inches  long.  The  culms  are  bent  at  the 
lower  joints,  where  they  frequently  take  root.  At  the  Xew  Orleans 
Exposition  there  were  specimens  of  this  grass  5  feet  10  inches  long. 

Professor  Killebrew,  of  Tennessee,  says  : 

It  is  a  fine  pasture  grass  ;  although  it  has  but  few  base  leaves  and  forms  no  sward, 
yet  it  sends  out  numerous  stems  or  branches  at  the  base.  It  serves  a  most  useful 
purpose  in  stock  husbandry.  It  fills  all  our  corn-fields  and  many  persons  pull  it  out, 
which  is  a  tedious  process.  It  makes  a  sweet  hay,  and  horses  are  exceedingly  fond  of 
it,  leaving  the  best  hay  to  eat  it. 

Professor  Phares,  of  Mississippi,  says  that  the  corn  and  cotton  fields 
are  often  so  overrun  with  it  that  The  hay  which  might  be  secured  would 
be  more  valuable  than  the  original  crop.  It  is  sometimes  mowed  from 
between  the  rows,  sometimes  cut  across  the  ridges,  with  the  corn. 


28 

Although  so  much  esteemed  in  the  South,  it  is  considered  a  pest  in 
the  Northern  States.     (Plate  15.) 

Panicum  virgatum  (Tall  Panic  Grass  ;  Switch  Grass). 

A  tall  perennial  grass,  3  to  5  feet  high, growing  mostly  in  clumps  in 
moist  or  even  in  dry,  sandy  soil,  very  common  on  the  sea-coast,  and 
also  in  the  interior  to  the  base  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  This  is  a  good 
and  prolific  grass  if  cut  when  young ;  when  ripe  it  becomes  harsh  and 
unpalatable.  It  forms  a  large  constituent  of  the  native  grasses  of  the 
prairies,  particularly  in  moist  localities.  It  is  said  to  be  cultivated  in 
some  parts  of  Colorado,  and  with  very  satisfactory  results.  (Plate  10.) 
Panicum  agrostoides.     (Redtop  Panicum.) 

This  is  a  perennial  grass,  commonly  growing  in  large  clumps  in  wet 
meadows  or  on  the  muddy  margins  of  lakes  and  rivers.  It  grows  4  to 
G  feet  high,  is  erect  in  habit,  and  developes  its  reddish  panicles  from 
several  of  the  joints  as  well  as  at  the  apex.  The  stem  is  somewhat 
flattened  and  very  smooth,  as  are  the  sheaths;  the  leaves  are  1  to  2 
feet  long,  about  half  an  inch  wide,  and  somewhat  rough  on  the  margins 
and  midrib.  The  terminal  panicle  is  6  to  12  inches  long,  at  first  some- 
what close,  but  becoming  quite  open  and  diffuse.  The  lateral  panicles 
are  shorter  and  partly  inclosed  by  the  sheath  at  the  base.  The  branches 
of  the  panicle  are  mostly  1  or  2  inches  long  and  rather  densely  flowered 
nearly  to  the  base.  The  spikelets  are  a  little  more  than  a  line  long  on 
very  short  pedicels,  mostly  racemose  on  one  side  of  the  branches,  oblong, 
acute,  the  lower  empty  glume  ovate,  acute,  half  as  long  as  the  upper 
one,  which  is  rather  long-pointed  and  five-nerved;  the  lower  or  sterile 
flower  is  a  little  shorter  than  the  longer  glume  and  a  little  shorter  than 
the  perfect  flower,  which  is  oblong,  obtuse,  and  under  a  lens  shows  a 
few  beards  at  the  apex.  This  grass  produces  a  large  amount  of  foliage, 
which  makes  fair  hay  if  cut  before  flowering  time;  if  left  later  it  con- 
tains too  many  wiry  stalks.  It  may  be  utilized  as  a  hay  crop  in  low 
grounds,  but  it  is  doubtful  if  it  can  be  made  productive  on  dry,  tillable 
land.  (Plate  17.) 
Panicum  anceps.     (Two-edged  Panic  Grass.) 

A  perennial  grass,  when  well  developed  resembling  the  preceding,  but 
of  a  smaller,  lighter  growth,  generally  found  in  moist  clay  soil.  It  has  a 
flattish  erect  stem,  2  to  3  feet  high,  with  smooth  leaves  a  foot  or  more 
long,  of  a  bluish-green  color,  and  mostly  near  the  base  of  the  stem.  The 
root- stock  is  thick,  scaly,  and  creeping  near  the  surface  of  the  ground. 
The  panicle  is  6  to  12  inches  long,  with  short  branches  near  the  top,  the 
lateral  brauches  3  to  0  inches  long,  rather  distant,  erect  or  somewhat 
spreading.  Usually  there  are  also  several  smaller  lateral  panicles  from 
the  upper  joints  of  the  culm.  The  spikelets  are  about  a  line  and  a  half 
long,  a  little  longer  than  those  of  Panicum  agrostoides,  oblong,  lanceo- 
late, a  little  curved,  and  sessile,  or  on  very  short  pedicels.  The  lower 
empty  glume  is  broadly  ovate,  and  about  half  as  loug  as  the  five  to 


29 

seven-nerved  upper  one.  The  lower  glume  of  the  sterile  flower  is  as 
long  as  the  upper  empty  glume,  and  much  like  it  in  texture1,  while  the 
palet  is  thin,  obtuse,  and  much  shorter.  The  perfect  flower  is  one  third 
shorter  than  the  upper  empty  glume,  oblong;  the  flowering  glume  and 
its  palet,  as  in  most  species  of  Panicum,  is  thick  and  of  hard  texture. 
This  can  not  be  considered  a  valuable  grass,  but  it  frequently  occurs 
in  neglected  and  poor  land  in  sufficient  quantity  to  afford  considerable 
grazing  for  stock.  It  makes  its  growth  late  in  the  season,  usually 
reaching  the  flowering  state  in  August.  Dr.  Mohr,  of  Mobile,  remarks 
that  it  is  not  muc'h  relished  by  stock,  being  rather  harsh  and  dry. 
Professor  P hares  says : 

It  forms  strongly  rooted  spreading  clumps,  often  completely  carpeting  the  ground 
with  pretty,  glossy,  light-green  foliage. 

(Plate  18.) 

SETARIA. 

In  this  genus  the  flowers  are  constructed  as  in  the  Panicums,  but  they  are  arranged 
in  narrow,  more  or  less  cylindrical  spikes.  Below  the  spikelets  are  several  bristles, 
generally  longer  than  the  spikelets,  which  remain  on  the  spike  after  the  fall  of  the 
flowers. 

Setaria  Italica  (Hungarian  Grass;  German  Millet). 

This  grass  is  supposed  to  be  a  native  of  the  East  Indies,  but  it  has 
been  extensively  introduced  into  most  civilized  countries.  It  has  long 
been  cultivated  as  a  fodder  grass  both  in  Europe  and  in  this  country. 
It  is  an  annual  grass  of  strong,  rank  growth,  the  culms  erect,  2  to  3  feet 
high,  with  numerous  long  and  broad  leaves,  and  a  terminal,  spike-like, 
nodding  panicle,  4  to  G  inches  long,  and  often  an  inch  or  more  in  diam- 
eter. The  varieties  and  forms  of  this  grass  differ  greatly,  so  much  so 
that  some  of  them  have  been  considered  different  species;  but  the  gen- 
eral opinion  of  botanists  is  that  they  are  all  varying  forms  of  the  same 
species,  dependent  upon  the  character  of  the  soil,  thickness  of  seeding, 
moisture  or  dryness,  and  time  of  sowing.  It  owes  its  value  as  a  fodder 
plant  to  the  abundance  of  its  foliage,  and  to  the  large  quantity  of  seed 
produced.  In  some  instances  objection  has  been  made  to  this  grass  on 
account  of  the  bristles  which  surround  the  seed,  and  which  have  been  said 
to  penetrate  the  stomachs  of  cattle  so  as  to  cause  inflammation  and  death. 
But  it  is  plain  that  this  opinion  is  not  generally  held,  as  the  cultivation 
of  the  grass  is  widely  extended  and  everywhere  recommended. 

For  forage  it  should  be  cut  as  soon  as  it  blooms,  when,  of  course,  it  is 
worth  nothing  for  seed ;  but  it  is  most  valuable  for  forage  and  exhausts 
the  land  much  less.  If  left  for  the  seeds  to  mature  they  are  very  abun- 
dant and  rich  feed,  but  the  stems  are  worthless,  while  the  soil  is  more 
damaged. 

Professor  Phares  says : 

The  matured  stems  are  very  hard,  indigestible,  and  injurious,  and  the  ripe  seeds 
will  founder  more  promptly  than  corn,  and  sometimes  produee  diabetes  if  moldy  and 
too  freely  used.     If  cut  at  the  right  stage  the  whole  plant  is  safe  aud  very  valuable 


30 

forage.  On  good  soil,  if  the  ground  be  moist,  it  will  be  ready  for  mowing  in  sixty 
days  from  seeding,  and  produce  from  2  to  4  tons  of  hay  per  acre.  It  is  folly  to  sow 
it  on  poor  land. 

(Plate  19.) 
Setaria  glauca  and  Setaria  viridis. 

These  two  kinds,  called  pigeon  grass,  are  very  common  in  cultivated 
fields,  especially  among  stubble  after  the  cutting  of  grain.  They  are  as 
nutritious  as  Hungarian  grass  but  not  so  productive.     (Plate  20.) 

PENNISETUM. 

The  flowers  in  this  genus  are  arranged  in  close  spikes  much  like  those  of  Setaria, 
but  the  bristles  at  the  base  of  the  spikelets  fall  off  with  the  spikelets,  instead  of  re- 
maining attached  to  the  rhachis. 
Pemiisetum  spicatum  (Penicillaria spicata)  (Pearl  Millet;  Cat-tail  Millet;  Egyptian 

Millet). 

This  is  supposed  to  be  a  native  of  Africa,  but  has  been  known  from 
time  immemorial  in  cultivation  in  India,  Arabia,  and  Egypt. 

It  is  an  annual  grass  of  luxuriant  growth,  frequently  reaching  6  or 
8  feet  in  height,  with  long,  broad  leaves,  and  a  stout,  solid  culm  ter- 
minated with  a  thick,  erect  spike,  b'  to  10  inches  long,  and  three-quarters 
of  an  inch  in  thickness,  having  a  resemblance  to  the  heads  or  spikes 
of  the  common  cat-tail  (Typha  latifolia).  The  stalks  are  freely  pro- 
ductive of  suckers  which  furnish  a  large  amount  of  succulent,  sweet 
leaves. 

Professor  Phares  states: 

It  has  been  grown  to  some  extent  for  twenty-five  years  in  many  parts  of  the 
Southern  States,  more  largely  since  1865. 

No  crop  will  pay  better  or  yield  more  forage  than  this  on  very  rich,  highly  fertilized 
land.  On  such  land  it  has  been  cut  on  an  average  every  forty-five  days,  from  the 
time  of  planting  till  frost,  with  a  reported  product  of  80  or  100  tons  of  green  forage, 
or  from  16  to  20  tons  of  dry  hay.  When  it  grows  luxuriantly  it  is  impossible  to  cure 
it  for  hay  on  the  ground  upon  which  it  is  grown  ;  so  that  it  would  be  impracticable 
to  make  hay  of  a  large  field  of  it  sown  solid.  Hence  it  must  be  sown  in  small  patches 
or  in  beds,  with  spaces  between  upon  which  to  spread  it  when  cut  This  difficulty 
would  occur  only  on  rich  and  highly  manured  land.  Any  one  can  have  the  crop  as 
light  as  he  chooses  by  sowing  on  poorly  prepared  or  on  exhausted  land. 

It  is  best  adapted  for  cultivation  in  the  South,  where  it  will  ripen 
seeds,  but  in  a  favorable  season  it  may  produce  a  large  amount  of  for- 
age, in  the  Northern  States. 

TRIFSACTJM, 

Tripsacum  dactyloides  (Gaina  Grass). 

A  tall,  stout,  perennial  grass,  growing  sparingly  at  the  North,  more 
common  southward  and  in  the  Western  States.  The  flowers  are  in 
spikes,  generally  from  one  to  three  at  the  top  of  the  culm  or  from  side 
shoots.  The  spikes  are  2  to  4  inches  long,  the  male  flowers  by  them- 
selves on  the  upper  part,  and  the  female  flowers  on  the  lower  part. 
The  lower  flowers  mature  seeds  in  short  joints,  which  break  apart  at 


31 

maturity.     Professor  Phares  says  it  was  formerly  found  widely  diffused 
through  the  Southern  States,  from  the  sea-shore  to  the  mountains.    It 
is  uow  seldom  seen,  having  been  destroyed  by  cattle. 
Mr  Howard,  of  South  Carolina,  says  of  it: 

This  is  a  native  of  the  South,  from  tho  mountains  to  the  coast  The  seed  stem  runs 
up  tc  the  height  of  5  to  7  feet.  The  seeds  break  off  from  the  stem  as  if  from  a  joint,  a 
single  seed  at  a  time.  The  leaves  resemble  those  of  corn.  When  cut  before  the  seed 
stems  shoot  up  they  make  a  coarse  but  nutritious  hay.  It  may  be  cut  three  or  four 
times  during  the  season.  The  quantity  of  forage  which  can  be  made  from  it  is  enor- 
mous. Both  cattle  and  horses  are  fond  of  the  hay.  The  roots  are  almost  as  large  and 
strong  as  cane  roots.  It  would  require  a.  team  of  four  to  six  oxen  to  plow  it  up.  It 
can.  however,  be  easily  killed  by  close  grazing,  and  the  mass  of  dead  roots  would 
certainly  enrich  the  land.  As  the  seeds  of  this  grass  vegetate  with  uncertainty,  it  is 
usually  propagated  by  setting  out  slips  of  the  roots  about  2  feet  apart  each  way. 
On  rich  land  the  tussocks  will  soon  meet.  In  the  absence  of  the  finer  hay  grasses 
this  will  bo  found  an  abundant  and  excellent  substitute.  The  hay  made  from  it  is 
very  like  corn  fodder,  is  quite  equal  to  it  in  value,  and  may  be  saved  at  a  tithe  of 
the  expense.  « 

(Plate  21.) 

EUCHLAENA. 

Euchlaena  luxurians  (Teosinte). 

This  grass  is  allied  to  and  somewhat  resembles  Indian  eorn.  Like  it, 
it  has  the  male  flowers  in  a  tassel  at  the  top  of  the  stalk,  and  the  fertile 
ones  arranged  in  slender  spikes  mostly  concealed  from  view  by  the  loose 
husk  or  sheath  in  which  they  are  contained.  These  husks  come  from 
nearly  every  joint. 

Prof.  Asa  Gray,  in  the  American  Agriculturist  for  August,  1880, 
speakiug  of  this  plant,  writes : 

The  director  of  the  botanic  garden  and  Government  plantations  at  Adelaide,  South- 
ern Australia,  reports  favorably  of  this  strong-growing,  corn-like  forage  plant,  the 
Euchlcena  luxurians;  that  the  prevailing  dryness  did  not  injure  the  plants,  which 
preserved  their  healthy  green,  while  the  blades  of  the  other  grasses  suffered  materially. 
The  habit  of  throwing  out  young  shoots  is  remarkable,  sixty  or  eighty  rising  to  a 
height  of  5  to  6  feet.  Further  north,  at  Palmerston  (nearer  the  equator),  in  the  course 
of  five  or  six  months  the  plant  reached  the  height  of  10  to  14  feet,  and  the  steins  on 
one  plant  numbered  fifty-six.  The  plants,  after  mowing  down,  grew  again  several 
feet  in  a  few  days.  The  cattle  delight  in  it  in  a  fresh  state,  also  when  dry.  Undoubt- 
edly there  is  not  a  more  prolific  forage  plant  known  ;  but,  as  it  is  essentially  tropic 
in  its  habits,  this  luxuriant  growth  is  found  in  tropical  or  subtropical  climates.  The 
chief  drawback  to  its  culture  with  us  will  be  that  the  ripening  of  the  seed  crop  will 
be  problematical,  as  early  frosts  will  kill  the  plant.  To  make  the  teosinte  a  most 
useful  plant  in  Texas,  and  along  our  whole  Southern  border,  the  one  thing  needful  is 
to  develop  early  flowering  varieties  so  as  to  get  seed  before  frost.  And  this  could  be 
done,  without  doubt,  if  some  one  in  Texas  or  Florida  would  set  about  if.  What  it  has 
taken  ages  to  do  in  the  case  of  Indian  corn,  in  an  unconscious  way,  might  be  mainly 
done  in  a  human  life-time  by  rightly  directed  care  and  vigorous  selection.  Who  is  the 
man  who  is  going  to  make  millions  of  blades  of  grass  grow  where  none  of  any  account 
ever  grew  before  ? 

Seeds  of  this  semi-tropical  forage  plant  were  distributed  by  the  De- 
partment in  the  spring  of  1886  and  again  in  1887.     The  plant  consider- 


32 

ably  resembles  Indian  corn,  bat  is  more  Blender,  gives  off  suckers  more 
abundantly,  and  produces  its  seeds,  a  few  together,  in  small  tufts  of 
husks  instead  of  in  ears.  Bach  seed  is  inclosed  by  the  peculiar  hardened 
outer  glumes,  which  would  probably  make  it  more  difficult  to  digest 
than  corn.  The  plant  has  not  yet  been  extensively  tried,  owing  to  the 
difficulty  of  obtaining  seed,  which  it  was  necessary  to  import,  and 
which  was  therefore  expensive  and  liable  to  be  of  poor  quality.  Expe- 
rience has  shown,  however,  that  it  will  ripen  iu  southern  Florida,  and 
in  a  few  other  favorable  localities  in  the  United  States.  Professor 
Phares,  of  Mississippi,  believes,  from  instances  that  have  come  under  his 
notice,  that  the  seed  may  be  successfully  grown  in  some  locations  in  the 
southern  portion  of  that  State,  and  over  a  considerable  part  of  south- 
eastern Louisiana,  and  that  in  all  parts  of  the  Gulf  States,  even  where 
it  does  not  mature,  it  is  destined  to  become  a  most  valuable  forage 
plant.  It  is  probable  that  by  selection  and  continued  trial  it  may  be 
made  to  ripen  where  it  now  does  not. 
J.  C.  Xeal,  Archer,  northern  Florida: 

Often  tried,  and  with  much  fertilizer  makes  a  tremendous  growth,  giving  a  large 
amount  of  good  forage,  easily  dried,  and  available.  The  seeds  1  received  from  the 
Department  of  Agriculture  last  year  were  deficient  in  vitality,  and  hut  few  grew,  hut 
they  showed  that  with  good  seed  aud  care  the  teosinte  would  he  a  valuable  forage 
plant.     If  will  not  ripen  seed      I  have  tried  to  ripen  it  for  ten  years  and  failed. 

J.  G.  Knapp,  Limona,  southern  Florida: 

Great  difficulty  has  been  experienced  in  obtaining  live  seed  of  this  most  valuable 
fodder  plant,  seed  obtained  from  seedsmen,  having  been  imported  from  Honduras, 
being  too  old  to  germinate.  But  during  the  past  season  a  neighbor  of  mine  has  suc- 
ceeded in  obtaining  a  few  seeds  which  grew,  and  his  plants  have  matured  their  - 
all  of  which  will  be  planted  the  present  year.  Seed  has  also  been  matured  at  Fort 
Meade,  in  Polk  County.  Thus  the  question  can  be  considered  as  settled,  so  far  as 
this  locality  is  concerned,  that  teosinte  will  mature  its  seed,  aud  the  country  is 
placed  in  possession  of  the  best  soiling  and  fodder  plant  known  to  the  agriculturists 
of  the  world.  It  endures  heat,  drought,  and  rains  as  well  as  sorghum  aud  better 
than  corn,  and  may  be  cured  for  hay. 

Dr.  Charles  Mohr,  Mobile,  Ala. : 

This  tropical  grass  does  not  ripen  its  seeds  in  this  latitude  :  it  scarcely  unfolds 
its  blossoms  before  the  advent  of  the  first  frost.  It  is  very  tender,  being  easily  af- 
fected by  frost  or  drought.  During  a  cold  spring  it  is  difficult  to  secure  a  good 
stand,  and  it  is  only  after  warm  weather  has  fairly  set  iu  that  it  begins  to  make  a 
rapid  growth,  affording  three  cuttings  and  over  of  rich  fodder  on  well  manured 
ground  in  a  season  of  genial  showers.  It  is  too  succulent  to  be  easily  cured  for  hay. 
On  that  account  aud  from  the  difficulty  in  securing  a  good  stand  and  from  the  neces- 
sity of  procuring  each  season  a  supply  of  seed  from  abroad,  this  grass  has  not  found 
tin'  favor  with  the  cultivators  of  this  section  with  which  it  is  held  in  the  subtropical 
zone. 

J.  S.  Newman,  Director  Experiment  Station,  Auburn,  Ala.: 

Teosinte  was  cultivated  ou  our  experiment  grounds  last  season  with  very  satisfac- 
tory results.  It  tillers  like  cat-tail  millet,  but  makes  a  much  more  luxuriant  growth. 
It  responds  promptly  and  vigorously  under  the  knife,  and  may  be  repeatedly  cut  dur- 


33 

ing  spring  and  summer.  I(  docs  not,  however,  withstand  drought  as  well  as  millo 
maize  or  kailir  corn,  and  it  died  completely  during  our  seventy-five  days  of  drought 
last  fall.  I  have  a  few  seeds  which  were  matured  on  the  grounds  of  Mr.  George  W. 
Benson,  in  the  open  air,  at  Marietta,  Ga.  He  ripened  seeds  two  years  ago  on  a  few 
plants  which  were  forced  in  early  spring  and  transplanted  to  the  open  ground.  Last 
year  this  seed  was  planted  in  the  open  ground,  and  produced  the  plants  which  ma- 
tured the  seed  which  I  have.  He  seems  thus  to  have  succeeded  in  acclimating  the 
plant,  which  is  therefore  likely  to  prove  a  valuable  acquisition. 

(Plate  22.) 

ZIZANIA. 

Zizania  aquatica  (Wild  Kice;  Indian  Rice). 

Its  ordinary  growth  is  from  5  to  10  feet  high,  with  a  thick,  spongy  stem,  and  abnn- 
dant  long  and  broad  leaves.  The  panicle  is  pyramidal  in  shape,  1  to  2  feet  long,  and 
widely  branching  below.  The  upper  branches  aro  rather  appressed  and  contain  the 
fertile  flowers,  while  the  lower  branches  contain  only  statu inate  ones.  The  spikelets 
are  oue-llowered,  each  with  one  pair  of  external  husks  or  scales,  which  are  by  some 
botanists  called  glnmes,  and  by  others  called  palets.  These  hnsks  or  glumes  in  the 
fertile  tlower  are  nearly  or  quite  au  inch  long,  with  an  awn  or  beard  as  long,  or  twice 
as  long.  The  grain  inclosed  between  them  is  half  an  inch  long,  slender  and  cylin- 
drical. The  glumes  of  the  stamiuate  flowers  are  about  half  an  inch  long  and  without 
awns,  each  flower  containing  six  stamens.  These  flowers  fall  off  soon  after  they  ex- 
pand.    The  fertile  flowers  also  drop  very  readily  as  soou  as  the  grain  is  ripened. 

This  is  botairicall y  related  to  the  common  commercial  rice  ( Oryza  sativa) 
but  is  very  different  in  general  appearance.  It  is  widely  diffused  over 
North  America,  and  is  found  in  Eastern  Siberia  and  Japan.  It  grows 
on  the  muddy  banks  of  rivers  and  lakes,  both  near  the  sea  and  far  in- 
land, sometimes  in  water  10  feet  or  more  deep,  forming  patches  or  mead- 
ows covering  many  acres  or  extending  for  miles. 

The  grass  abounds  in  the  small  lakes  of  Minnesota  and  the  "North- 
west, and  is  there  gathered  by  the  Indians  for  food.  The  husk  is  re- 
moved by  scorching  with  fire.  It  is  a  very  palatable  and  nutritious 
grain.  Some  attempts  have  been  made  to  cultivate  the  grass,  but  the 
readiness  of  the  seed  to  drop  must  interfere  with  a  successful  result. 

Near  the  sea  coast  multitudes  of  reed-birds  resort  to  the  marshes, 
where  it  grows,  and  fatten  upon  the  grain.  The  culms  are  sweet  and 
nutritious,  and  cattle  are  said  to  be  very  fond  of  the  grass.  It  is  not 
adapted  to  culture  on  any  ordinary  farming  land,  as*it  will  live  only 
in  the  presence  of  water.     (Plate  23.) 

LEERSIA. 

The  flowers  grow  iu  spreading  panicles.  The  spikelets  are  sessile,  on  short,  one- 
sided branches  or  spikes.  The  spikelets  are  one-flowered,  possessing  but  two  scales, 
which  may  be  called  glumes  or  palets,  which  are  strongly  compressed,  without  awns, 
bristly  ciliate  on  the  keels,  the  lower  one  broader  and  inclosing  the  seed.  Stamens 
one  to  six;  stigmas  two  ;  grain  flattened. 

A  genus  of  rough-leaved  grasses  growing  for  the  most  part  iu  marshy 
or  moist  ground  throughout  nearly  all  parts  o*'  the  United  States.    There 
are  about  live  species,  two  of  which  are  confined  to  the  Southern  States; 
3594  GR 3 


34 

tbe  others,  at  least  two  of  them,  are  very  common,  though  rarely  occur- 
ring in  great  quantity.  They  are  sometimes  cut  for  hay.  They  cau 
not  be  recommended  for  culture,  but  may  be  utilized  wherever  the.Y 
grow  spon tan eonsly. 

Leersia  oryzoides  (White  Grass ;  Cut  Grass;  False  Rice). 

This  is  a  handsome  grass,  the  culms  decumbent.  It  is  commouly 
called  rice  grass,  from  its  strong  resemblance  to  common  rice.  The 
leaves  are  pale  green,  frequently  a  foot  or  more  long,  prominently  veined 
below,  very  rough  on  the  margins  and  ou  the  sheaths.  The  panicle  is 
about  1  foot  long,  diffusely  branched,  the  branches  mostly  in  twos,  and 
an  inch  or  two  distant.  The  spikelets  are  very  flat,  about  2  lines  long, 
nearly  sessile,  and  borne  mostly  towards  the  ends  of  the  long  branches. 
The  leaves  are  so  rough  on  the  margins  as  readily  to  cut  the  hand  if 
roughly  drawn  through  it. 

Leersia  Virginica  (Small-flowered  White  Grass). 

In  this  species  the  panicle  is  much  smaller  and  narrower,  and  the 
branches  appressed.  The  spikelets  are  smaller,  the  glumes  narrower 
and  smoother  than  in  the  first.     (Plate  24.) 

Leersia  hexandra. 

This  species  occurs  in  wet  ground  on  the  Atlantic  and  Gulf  coast.  It 
also  occurs  in  other  tropical  and  semi  tropical  countries.  It  might  be 
utilized  iu  this  country,  if  it  becomes  necessary,  as  it  now  is  in  some 
other  countries.  In  Manilla,  one  of  the  Philippine  Islands  (as  we  learn 
from  the  United  States  consul  at  that  place),  this  species  is  cultivated 
as  food  for  horses  aud  cattle.  It  is  treated  like  rice,  being  transplanted 
to  wet  and  previously  plowed  meadows.  The  local  name  there  is  va- 
cate. 

HILARIA. 

Hilaria  Jamesii  (Gietta  Grass). 

This  is  one  of  the  characteristic  grasses  of  the  arid  districts  of  Texas, 
New  Mexico,  and  Arizona,  where  it  is  sometimes  called  black  grama. 
It  is  found  sparingly  also  in  Colorado  and  Utah.  There  are  several 
other  species  growing  in  the  same  region,  in  some  places  quite  abun- 
dantly. They  are  relished  by  cattle,  and  are  considered  as  next  iu  value 
to  grama  grass.     (Plate  25.) 

ANDROPOGON. 

This  genus  is  quite  largely  developed  in  the  United  States.  They  are 
perennial  grasses,  mostly  tall,  and  with  rough,  wiry  stems.  Some  of 
them  occur  in  nearly  all  parts  of  the  country  from  New  England  to 
Florida  and  west  to  Arizona.  They  are  most  abundant,  however,  in 
the  Southern  States,  where  they  have  been  employed  for  permanent 
pastures.  When  they  occur  in  quantity  they  can  be  utilized,  but  to  be 
of  value  they  should  be  kept  from  sending  up  their  strong  stems,  as 
these  are  universally  rejected  by  cattle  and  horses,    Most  of  the  species 


35 

are  not  to  be  recommended  for  cultivation,  but  some  have  been  praised 
in  the  South  as  furnishing,  with  proper  management,  permanent  and 
reliable  pastures. 

Andropogon  Virginicus  and  Aiidropogon  scoparius  (Broom  Sedge). 

Andropogon  Virginicns  and  A,  scaparivs  are  the  ones  commonly  em- 
ployed in  this  way. 

Dr.  Charles  Mohr,  of  Mobile,  says  that  Andropogon  ncoparius  grows 
extensively  in  old  fields,  and  in  the  dry,  sandy  soil  of  the  pine  woods. 

Much  despised  as  it  is  as  a  troublesome  weed,  it  has  its  good  qualities,  which  en- 
title it  to  a  more  charitable  consideration.  In  the  dry  pine  woods  it  contributes, 
while  green  and  tender,  a  large  share  to  the  sustenance  of  the  stock. 

It  is  common  on  the  Western  prairies,  growing  in  dense  tufts,  and  is 
known  under  the  names  of  wire  grass  and  bunch  grafts.  It  is,  in  most 
places,  a  constituent  of  prairie  hay,  and  it  makes  good  fodder  if  cut 
early.     (Plates  2Q  and  27.) 

Andropogon  macrourus. 

Andropogon  macrourus,  or  heavy-topped  broom  grass,  is  frequent  near 
the  coast,  from  New  Jersey  to  Florida,  and  thence  west  to  Texas,  and 
even  to  southern  California.  It  has  a  stout  culm,  3  to  4  feet  high,  with 
large,  leafy  clusters  of  flowers  near  the  top.     (Plate  28.) 

Aiidropogoa  fureeatus.    (X-  f '^AW^tA-  (HAA- 

This  is  the  tallest  of  our  species.  It  grows  erect  to  the  height  of  5 
or  6  feet,  in  rocky  or  hilly  ground;  or  at  the  West  it  is  abundant  on  the 
native  prairies,  where  it  is  frequently  called  blue  stem.  The  leaves  are 
long  aud  frequently  somewhat  hairy  on  the  sheaths  and  margins.  The 
spikes  are  in  small  clusters  of  from  three  to  six,  terminating  the  stalk, 
and  also  with  several  clusters  from  the  side  branches.  The  spikes  are 
usually  2  to  3  inches  long,  rather  rigid,  and  contain  ten  to  twenty  flow- 
ers each.  At  each  joint  there  is  one  sessile,  perfect  flower,  and  one 
stalked  one,  which  is  staminate  only ;  otherwise  it  is  nearly  like  the  fer- 
tile one.  The  outer  glumes  are  about  four  lines  long,  the  upper  one 
tipped  wij;h  a  short,  stiff  awn. 

This  species,  as  above  stated,  is  abundant  on  the  prairies  of  the  West, 
where  it  is  one  of  the  principal  hay  grasses  of  the  country,  and  is  ex- 
tensively cut  and  cured  for  winter  use.     (Plate  29.) 

Andropogon  Hallii. 

This  species  much  resembles  the  preceding,  but  the  culms  are  stouter, 
the  leaves  thicker  and  more  succulent,  the  flower  spikes  are  larger,  and 
the  flowers  generally  more  hairy.  It  prevails  in  very  sandy  soil,  and 
is  most  frequent  in  western  Kansas  and  in  Colorado,  Nebraska,  and 
northward  along  the  Missouri  River.  The  leaves  and  stems  are  com- 
monly of  a  light,  bluish-green  color.  It  will  probably  be  well  adapted 
to  light,  sandy  soils. 


36 


CHRYSOPOGON. 

Chrysopogon  nutans  (Sorghum  nutans)  (Wild  Oats). 

The  stalks  are  4  to  6  feet  high,  smooth,  hollow,  straight,  and  having  at  the  top  a 
narrow  panicle,  G  to  12  inches  long,  of  handsome  straw-colored  or  brownish  flowers, 
which  is  gracefully  drooping  at  the  top.  The  spikelets  are  at  the  ends  of  the  slender 
branches  of  the  loose  panicle,  generally  of  a  yellowish  color.  At  the  base  of  each  of 
the  spikelets  are  two  (one  on  each  side)  short,  feathery  pedicels:  the  flowers  which 
they  are  supposed  to  have  been  made  to  support  have  entirely  disappeared.  The 
outer  glumes  are  about  three  lines  long,  both  alike,  lanceolate,  obtusish,  coriaceous, 
live  to  seven-nerved,  the  lower  one  sparsely  hairy,  and  with  hairs  at  the  base  and  on 
the  stalk  below. 

This  is  a  tall,  perennial  grass,  having  a  wide  range  over  all  the  country 
east  of  the  Bocky  Mountains.  It  grows  rather  sparsely  and  forms  a 
thin  bed  of  grass. 

It  is  a  nutritious  grass,  but  should  be  cut  early,  as  at  full  maturity 
the  stems  are  coarse  and  are  rejected  by  cattle.     (Plate  30.) 

SORGHUM. 

In  this  genus  the  spikelets  are  much  as  in  Clirysopogon  and  A  ndrapo- 
gon,  differing  chiefly  in  habit  and  in  the  glumes  of  the  fertile  spikelets 
becoming  hardened  after  flowering. 

There  are  several  species. 

Sorghum  halepense  (Johnson  Grass;  Mean's  Grass). 

This  grass  is  a  native  of  Northern  Africa  and  the  country  about  the 
Mediterranean  Sea. 

It  was  introduced  into  cultivation  in  this  country  more  than  fifty 
years  ago,  and  has  recently  attracted  renewed  attention,  especially  in 
the  Southern  States.  The  name  Johnson  grass,  which  is  the  one  now 
most  generally  adopted  in  this  country,  originated  from  William  John- 
son, of  Alabama,  who  introduced  the  grass  into  that  State  from  South 
Carolina  about  the  year  1840.  It  had  previously  been  known  as  Mean's 
grass,  and  that  name  is  still  occasionally  used,  It  has  also  been  largely 
grown  under  the  name  of  Guinea  grass,  but  that  name  should  be  re- 
stricted to  Panic  urn  maximum,  described  in  another  part  of  this  bulletin. 
It  has  been  called  Egyptian  grass,  Green  Valley  grass,  Cuba  grass,  Al- 
abama Guinea  grass,  Australian  millet,  and  Morocco  millet.  In  Cali- 
fornia it  is  best  known  as  evergreen  millet  or  Arabian  evergreen  mil- 
let. There  seems  to  be  good  evidence  that  some  of  these  names  have 
been  used  at  times  in  order  to  sell  the  seed  as  a  new  kind  at  an  un- 
reasonably high  price.  Johnson  grass  seeds  abundantly,  and  the  seed 
may  be  obtained  of  nearly  all  seedsmen  under  that  name. 

This  grass  is  best  adapted  to  warm  climates,  and  has  proved  most 
valuable  on  warm,  dry  soils  in  the  Southern  States.  It  has  been  tested 
quite  generally  throughout  the- country,  and  is  often  recommended  for 
cultivation  even  in  the  North,  but  there  its  growth  is  much  smaller  than 


37 

at  the  South,  and  in  severe  winters  it  is  killed  outright  It  is  occasion- 
ally more  or  less  winter-killed  as  far  south  as  the  northern  portion  of 
Texas  and  Alabama.  Its  chief  value  is  for  bay,  in  regions  where  other 
grasses  fail  on  account  of  drought.  If  cut  early  the  hayjs  of  good 
quality,  and  several  cuttiugs  may  be  made  in  the  season  ;  but  if  the 
cutting  is  delayed  until  the  stalks  are  well  grown  the  hay  is  so  coarse 
and  hard  that  stock  do  not  eat  it  readily.  The  seed  may  be  sown  at 
any  time  when  the  soil  is  warm  and  not  too  dry.  Failures  often  occur 
from  sowing  the  seed  too  early.  If  there  is  danger  that  the  soil  should 
dry  out  before  the  seed  can  germinate,  soaking  the  seed  may  be  resorted 
to  with  good  results.'  Thick  seeding  gives  a  heavier  yield  and  a  better 
quality  of  hay.  From  1  to  2  bushels  are  usually  sown  per  acre,  accord- 
ing to  the  cleanness  of  the  seed.  In  case  of  failure  to  get  a  good  stand 
the  crop  may  be  allowed  to  go  to  seed  the  first  year,  after  which  the 
vacant  places  will  be  found  to  be  self-seeded.  On  small  patches  in  such 
cases  the  ground  is  sometimes  plowed  up  and  the  underground  stems 
scattered  along  in  the  furrows  over  the  vacant  spots.  In  most  localities 
it  is  generally  considered  desirable  to  plow  the  land  set  in  Johnson 
grass  about  every  third  year;  otherwise  the  root  stocks  become  matted 
near  the  surface,  and  the  crop  is  more  affected  by  drought.  Plowing 
causes  it  to  grow  more  thickly  and  vigorously.  If  desired,  a  large  por- 
tion of  the  root  stocks  may  be  removed  at  the  time  of  plowing  without 
injuring  the  stand.  The  greatest  objection  to  Johnson  grass  is  the  diffi- 
culty of  eradicating  it.  Care  should  be  taken  not  to  introduce  it  into 
fields  intended  for  cultivation.  It  spreads  rapidly,  both  by  the  root 
and  by  seed,  and  is  apt  to  enter  fields  where  it  is  not  wanted.  On  stock- 
farms  this  feature  is  not  so  objectionable  as  elsewhere.  The  grass  is 
not  well  adapted  to  pasture,  and  close  pasturing  is  one  of  the  means  of 
getting  rid  of  it.  Its  succulent,  subterranean  stems  are  usually  well 
liked  .by  hogs  after  they  have  become  accustomed  to  them,  and  by 
keeping  hogs  closely  confined  upon  it,  it  may  be  eradicated.  Another 
method  of  eradication  which  is  recommended  is  to  plow  in  the  fall,  so 
as  to  expose  it  to  the  action  of  frost.  In  the  South,  where  the  grass  is 
most  largely  grown,  this  is  only  partially  successful. 

There  has  been  much  discussion  in  the  Southern  papers  respecting 
this  grass,  some  considering  it  a  great  blessing,  others  a  curse,  the  fact 
being  that  it  is  a  blessing  where  a  permanent  grass  is  desired,  and  a 
great  pest  in  land  desired  for  general  cultivation.  It  is  probably  too 
tender  for  the  Northern  States,  but  needs  further  trial.     (Plate  31.) 

Sorghum  vulgare. 

This  name  as  at  present  applied  includes  several  varieties  quite  dif- 
ferent in  appearance,  as  the  variety  saccharatum,  or  ordinary  sugar 
sorghum,  millo  maize,  Kaffir  corn,  dourra,  and  broom  corn.  The 
broom  corn  variety  we  need  not  discuss  here.     Some  of  the  other  vari- 


38 

eties  have  been  cultivated  in  various  sections,  and  deserve  especial 
attention  in  certaiu  localities. 

This  plant  has  been  widely  discussed  within  the  last  few  years  in  the 
agricultural  press,  and  is  valued  by  many  who  have  grown  it  as  a  fod- 
der plant  in  the  South.  There  is  considerable  difference  of  opinion, 
however,  as  to  its  relative  value  as  compared  with  the  other  sorghums 
and  Indian  corn.  The  following  from  among  the  replies  received  are 
given  as  additional  evidence  in  regard  to  it: 

J.  S.  Newman,  Director  Experiment  Station,  Agricultural  and  Me- 
chanical College,  Auburn,  Ala. : 

The  popularity  of  this  plant  is  waning,  it  having  no  special  advantages  over  com- 
mon com,  cat-tail  millet,  or  common  sorghum. 

As  evidence  that  millo  maize  has  undergone  acclimation,  I  will  add 
that  plants  grown  from  seed  freshly  imported  from  South  America  do 
not  mature  seeds  here. 

Dr.  Charles  Mohr,  Mobile,  Ala. : 

In  the  last  three  seasons  this  has  been  grown  successfully  in  this  vicinity  by  several 
parties.  It  ripens  its  seed  before  the  advent  of  frost,  which  kills  the  plants  to  the 
roots.  It  does  very  well  in  the  light  soils  of  the  coast  plain,  and  perhaps  every- 
where in  the  pine  region  where  there  is  a  clay  foundation.  The  growth  of  this  grass 
during  the  early  part  of  the  season  is  much  retarded  by  the  chilly  nights  and  spells 
of  continued  cold  weather.  It  is  only  after  the  advent  of  settled  warm  weather  that 
it  enters  upon  its  period  of  more  vigorous  growth. 

Four  cuttings  may  be  taken  during  the  season.  Plants  intended  fur  seed  are  left 
undisturbed,  and  grow  to  a  height  of  18  or  20  feet,  ripening  in  October.  Great 
trouble  in  securing  the  seed  is  caused  by  the  ravages  of  numerous  birds. 

The  fodder  obtained  from  the  repeated  cuttings,  on  account  of  its  succulence,  is 
difficult  to  cure,  and  in  damp  weather  almost  impossible.  To  cure  dry  fodder  for 
winter  use  the  plants  are,  after  the  second  cutting,  left  to  grow  until  towards  the 
end  of  the  season,  when,  having  attained  a  height  of  12  to  15  feet,  and  before  opening 
their  flowers,  the  stalks  are  cut  and  placed  on  end  in  small  shocks.  After  being  suf- 
ficiently dried  they  are  placed  upright  under  an  airy  shed  or  barn,  protected  from 
the  damp.  In  this  way  sufficient  ventilation  is  secured  to  prevent  heating  and  mold- 
ing, and  to  keep  the  fodder  sweet  and  palatable.  The  fodder  is  said  to  be  preferred 
by  all  kinds  of  live  stock  to  any  other  fodder  or  hay.  As  to  its  nutritious  value  as 
compared  with  corn  fodder  opinions  differ.  The  seeds  are  planted  in  spring  in  beds, 
which  can  be  covered  over  during  cool  nights,  and  from  these  are  transferred,  when 
8  to  10  inches  in  height,  to  the  field,  and  thereafter  treated  in  the  same  manner  as 
corn. 

Florida  Farm  and  Fruit-Growers: 

Hed  Millo  Maize. — It  stands  drought  and  does  not  blow  down  easily,  but  it  does 
not  make  as  rank  a  growth  as  yellow  millo  maize.  The  seed  is  smaller  than  any  of 
the  other  sorghums,  and  makes  a  first-class  chicken-feed. 

PHALARIS. 

Phalaris  arundinacea  (TCeed  Canary  Grass). 

A  perennial  grass,  with  strong,  creeping  rhizomes,  growing  from  2  to 
5  feet  high,  usually  in  low  or  wet  ground.  It  ranges  from  New  England 
and  New  York  westward  to  Oregon,  and  northward  to  Canada,  also  in 


39 

♦ 

the  mountainous  parts  of  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia.     It  is  common 

also  in  the  north  of  Europe.  The  eulin  is  stout,  smooth,  and  leafy; 
the  leaves  are  mostly  from  G  to  10  inches  long  ami  about  half  an  inch 
wide,  the  upper  ones  shorter. 

The  well  known  ribbon  grass  of  the  garden  is  a  variety  of  this  grass, 
and  will,  it  is  said,  easily  revert  to  the  normal  type.  In  mountainous 
regions  it  may  be  worth  trial  for  meadows.     (Plate  32.) 

Phalaris  intermedia  (Southern  Reed  Canary  Grass;   Gilbert's  Relief  Grass;  Stew- 
art's Canary  Giass;  California  Timothy  Grass  . 

This  species  resembles  the  foreign  Canary  grass  (/'/<« laris  Canariensis)  which  pro- 
duces the  seed  commonly  sold  as  food  for  Canary  birds.  It  is.  however,  a  taller  and 
more  robust  species,  growing  2  or  3  feet  high,  with  a  stout,  erect  culm  and  broad, 
linear  leaves,  which  are  from  4  to  10  inches  long.  The  spike  is  oblong  and  compact, 
1  or  2  inches  long.  There  is  a  variety  called  var.  angusta,  in  which  the  spike  is  :J  or 
4  inches  long.  The  spikelets  are  much  like  those  of  the  preceding  species  (Phalaris 
anoidiiiacca),  having  one  perfect  flower  and  two  abortive  ones.  The  outer  glumes 
are  lanceolate  and  nearly  alike  and  have  a  narrow  wing  extending  down  the  keel. 
The  glumes  of  the  feitile  flower  are  nearly  like  those  of  Phalaris  arundinacea  already 
described. 

This  species  grows  in  South  Carolina  and  the  Golf  States,  extending 
to  Texas,  then  stretching  across  to  the  Pacific  coast  and  occurring 
through  California  and  Oregon.  It  has  frequently  been  sent  to  the  De- 
partment from  the  Southern  States  as  a  valuable  winter  grass. 

Mr.  Thomas  TV.  Beaty,  of  Conway,  S.  C,  writes  as  follows: 

The  grass  I  send  you  was  planted  last  September,  and  the  specimens  were  cut  on 
the  9th  of  March,  following.  You  will  notice  that  it  is  heading  out  and  is  just  now 
in  a  right  coudition  for  mowing.  It  is  wholly  a  winter  grass,  dying  down  in  the  latter 
part  of  April  aud  first  of  May  ;  and  it  seems  to  me  should  be  a  great  thing  for  the 
South  if  properly  introduced  aud  cultivated,  or  rather  the  ground  properly  prepared 
and  the  seed  sown  at  the  right  time.  It  would  afford  the  best  of  green  pasturage  for 
sheep  and  cattle  all  winter.     It  is  what  we  call  Gilbert's  relief  grass. 

Many  years  ago  Dr.  Lincecum,  of  Texas,  experimented  with  this  grass 
aud  recommended  it  very  highly.  In  California  it  is  called  California 
Timothy,  and  is  said  to  have  little  or  no  agricultural  value.  It  is  an 
annual  or  biennial.     Professor  Phares  says: 

The  variety  angusla  is  much  larger  and  more  valuable.  It  grows  2  to  3  feet  high 
and  in  swamps  5  feet,  with  many  leaves  4  to  10  inches  long,  the  spike  somewhat  re- 
sembling the  head  of  Timothy ;  stock  like  it  well,  especially  as  hay.  Mr.  D.  Stewart, 
of  Louisiana,  having  tested  other  grasses,  prefers  this  for  quantity  and  quality  for 
wiuter  and  spring  grazing,  and  for  soiling  for  milk  cows.  There  is  much  testiinouy 
from  many  parts  of  the  South  of  the  same  import,  and  this  grass  is  doubtless  worthy 
of  extended,  careful  testing. 

(Plate  33.) 

ANTHOXANTHTJM. 

Panicle  somewhat  spike-like.  Spikelets  apparently  three-flowered, 
but  only  the  terminal  one  perfect;  the  lower  pair  of  glumes  are  equal, 
the  lower  one  much  smaller  than  the  upper  one  :  above  these  aud  be- 
low the  perfect  flower  are  two  short,  thin,  two-lobed  pubescent  glumes, 


40 

sometimes  called  abortive  flowers,  each  one  with  an  awn  between  the 
lobes;  the  upper  or  perfect  flower  is  smaller,  consisting  of  one  broad, 
thin,  three-nerved  glume,  and  one  (commonly  considered  the  palet)  nar- 
row, one-nerved,  hyaline  glume.  No  true  palet.  Stamens  two;  styles 
two,  distinct. 

A.  odoratum  (Sweet  Vernal  Grass). 

A  perennial  grass,  native  of  Europe,  much  employed  as  a  part  of 
mixed  lawn  grasses,  and  frequently  naturalized  in  meadows.  It  grows 
thinly  on  the  ground,  with  slender  culms,  seldom  more  than  1  foot  to  18 
inches  in  height,  and  scanty  in  foliage.  The  panicle  is  2  to  3  inches 
long,  narrow,  close,  but  expands  considerably  during  flowering  time. 
It  is  very  fragrant  and  gives  a  pleasant  odor  to  hay.     (Plate  34.; 

ALOPECURUS. 

Alopecurus  geniculates  (Water  Foxtail). 

This  species  and  its  variety  aristulatus,  which  is  the  more  abundant 
form,  is  native  to  this  country.  It  commonly  grows  on  the  muddy 
banks  of  streams  and  lakes,  and  sometimes  is  found  in  wet  meadows 
and  ditches.  It  seldom  reaches  more  than  a  foot  in  height:  the  stem 
is  usually  bent  at  the  lower  joint,  and  the  sheaths  of  the  leaves  are 
more  or  less  swollen,  especially  the  upper  one.  It  is  of  no  value  for 
cultivation,  being  useful  only  for  the  amount  of  grass  it  may  contribute 
to  the  wild  forage  of  the  place  in  which  it  grows. 

Alopecurus  pratensis  (Meadow  Foxtail). 

This  is  a  perennial  grass,  a  native  of  Europe,  but  it  has  been  introduced  into  this 
country  and  is  frequently  found  in  meadows  of  the  Eastern  States.  It  has  consider- 
able resemblance  to  Timothy,  but  will  be  readily  distinguished  by  an  examination. 
It  ordinarily  grows  but  2  feet  high,  bnt  frequently  in  good  soil  reaches  3  feet  or  more. 
The  cnlms  are  erect,  with  four  or  live  leaves  at  pretty  uniform  distances.  The 
sheaths  are  long  and  rather  loose,  particularly  the  upper  one.  The  blade  of  the  leaf 
is  3  or  4  inches  long,  about  one-quarter  of  an  inch  wide  at  the  base,  and  tapering 
gradually  to  a  point.  The  panicle  terminates  the  stalk,  and  is  a  cylindrical  spike  2  or 
3  inches  long,  dense,  soft,  and  with  the  awns  of  the  flowers  conspicuously  projecting. 
The  spikeletfi  are  single-flowered,  between  2  and  3  lines  long.  The  outer  glumes 
are  strongly  compressed,  boat-shaped,  keeled,  nearly  equal,  sometimes  slightly  united 
together  at  the  base,  and  have  a  line  of  soft,  short  hairs  on  the  keels.  These  glumes 
closely  inclose  the  llower,  which  is  of  nearly  the  same  length,  and  consists  of  a  flower- 
ing glume,  but  without  any  true  palet.  This  flowering  glume  is  folded  upon  itself 
and  incloses  the  stamens  and  styles.  It  gives  rise  on  its  back,  near  the  base,  to  a  tine 
awn.  which  extends  two  or  three  lines  beyond  the  glumes. 

Mr.  J.  S.  Gould  says : 

It  nourishes  in  May.  nearly  four  weeks  in  advance  of  Timothy,  and  is  one  of  the 
earliest  grasses  to  start  in  the  spring.  Pastures  well  covered  with  this  grass  will 
afford  a  full  bite  at  least  one  week  earlier  than  those  which  do  not  have  it.  It  does 
not  llonrish  in  dry  soils,  but  loves  moist  lands ;  no  grass  bears  a  hot  sun  better,  and 
ii  i-  not  injured  by  frequent  mowings,  on  which  account,  as  well  as  for  its  early 
verdure,  it  is  valuable  for  lawns. 

(Plate  35.) 


41 

Alopecuius  occidentalis  ^ Rocky  Mountain  Foxtail). 

This  species  is  indigenous  in  Montana  and  [dalio,  and  is  very  com- 
mon along  mountain  streams,  frequently  covering  acres  of  the  mountain 

meadows.  It  is  called  in  some  localities  mountain  Timothy.  It  yields 
a  large  quantity  of  line,  bright  hay,  for  which  purpose  it  is  often  har- 
vested and  highly  valued.  It  is  of  little  value  for  grazing.  Probably 
under  cultivation  it  would  become  as  useful  as  the  European  species. 

ARISTIDA. 

Spikelets  one-llowered,  in  a  spicate  <>r  an  open  branching  panicle,  generally  on  lili- 
form  pedicels;  outer  glumes  unequal,  often  "bristle-pointed  :  flowering glnrae  narrow. 
rolled  around  the  flower,  terminating  with  a  trifid  awn.  or  apparently  three-awned. 
Palet  small  and  thin,  inclosed  in  the  flowering  glume. 

The  grasses  of  this  large  genus  are  generally  either  worthless  or  of 
little  agricultural  value.  The  perennial  species  in  some  localities  fur- 
nish a  considerable  amount  of  wild  forage  of  an  interior  character.  They 
are  very  abundant  in  sandy  and  sterile  soil,  especially  in  the  Rocky 
Mountain  region. 

Aristida  purpurea. 

Aristida purpurea  prevails  extensively  on  the  Western  plains,  and  it 
is  said  to  form  an  important  part  of  the  early  feed  of  the  cattle.  It  grows 
in  bunches,  and  is  about  1  foot  high.  The  panicle  is  somewhat  spread- 
ing, and  the  flowers  are  purplish,  with  spreading,  slender  awns,  1  inch 
or  more  in  length.     (Plate  3G.) 

STIPA. 

Spikelets  one-flowered,  terete,  spicate,  or  paniculate.  Outer  glumes  membranaceous, 
keeled;  flowering  glume  narrow,  coriaceous,  rigid,  involute,  with  a  simple  twisted  awn 
from  the  apex;  palet  usually  small  and  inclosed  by  the  flo weeing .glunie.  Stamens 
generally  three.  The  dowering  glume  has  a  hardened,  often  sharp-pointed  and  bearded 
pedicel  or  stipe  at  its  base. 

This  genus  has  its  principal  range  in  the  region  of  the  Eocky  Mount- 
ains and  the  Great  Plaius.  They  are  mostly  coarse,  rigid  grasses,  hav- 
ing little  agricultural  value.  In  common  with  many  other  kinds  they 
are  usually  called  bunch  grass,  sometimes  beard  grass,  or  feather 
grass.  The  more  abundant  species  are  Stipa  spartea,  Stipa  comata,  and 
Stipa  viridula.  These  prevail  from  British  America  southward,  on  the 
plains,  aud  in  the  mountains.  The  genus  is  particularly  distinguished 
by  the  awn  or  beard  of  the  flowering  glume,  and  the  sharp-pointed  and 
barbed  stipe  or  base  of  the  glume.  Complaint  has  been  made  among 
stockmen  of  great  injury  to  sheep  by  the  penetration  of  these  sharp 
points  into  the  wool,  and  even  into  the  flesh.  The  awns  or  feathery 
appendages  are  in  some  species  4  to  6  inches  long,  and  are  subject  to  a 
spiral  twisting  when  dry,  which  assists  in  forcing  the  seed  into  the 
ground  for  germination.  Stipa  avenacea  is  the  only  species  prevailing 
in  the  Eastern  and  Southern  States,  and  is  of  no  agricultural  impor- 


42 

tance.     The  long,  feathery  awns  of  Stipa  pennata  are  beautiful  and  orna- 
mental.    (Plate  37,  Stipa  viridula.) 

Stipa  spartea. 

JStipa  spartea  is  called  porcupine  grass,  arrow  grass,  and  devil's 
knitting-needles,  from  the  long,  stiff,  twisted  awns  inclosing  the  seed. 
The  seeds  ripen  early  and  drop  to  the  ground,  and  later  in  the  season 
the  grass  may  be  easily  recognized  by  the  persistent,  bleached  culms 
and  empty  glumes  of  the  spreading  panicle.  The  long  root-leaves  con- 
tinue green  and  vigorous  throughout  the  summer,  frequently  being  2 
feet  long.  Although  somewhat  coarse  the  grass  makes  a  very  good  hay, 
and  forms  a  considerable  part  of  the  wild  prairie  hay  in  Iowa,  Nebraska, 
Minnesota,  and  southern  Dakota.  It  is  called  buffalo  grass  in  the  Sas- 
katchewan region.  It  should  receive  attention  in  Western  experiments 
for  a  pasture  grass.     (Plate  38.) 

ORYZOPSIS. 

This  genus  differs  from  Stipa  chiefly  in  having  a  shorter  ovate  or  oblong  flower, 
with  the  callus  at  the  base  shorter  and  broader,  and  in  having  usually  a  very  short 
and  deciduous  awn  to  the  flowering  glume. 

Oryzopsis  cuspidata  (Bunch  Grass). 

This  grass  has  a  wide  distribution,  not  only  in  the  Sierras  of  Califor- 
nia, but  northward  to  British  America,  and  eastward  through  all  the 
interior  region  of  Utah,  Nevada,  New  Mexico,  Texas,  Colorado,  and 
Nebraska,  to  the  Missouri  River.  It  is  a  perennial,  growing  in  dense 
tufts,  whence  its  common  name. 

The  culms  are  1  to  2  feet  high,  with  about  three  narrow,  convolute  leaves,  the  up- 
per one  having  a  long,  inflated  sheath  which  incloses  the  base  of  the  panicle.  The 
radical  leaves  are  narrow,  rigid,  and  as  long  as  or  longer  than  the  culm.  The  panicle 
is  about  6  inches  long,  very  loose,  spreading  and  flexuous.  The  branches  are  in  pairs, 
slender,  rather  distant,  and  are  subdivided  mostly  in  pairs.  The  spikelets  are  at 
the  ends  of  the  capillary  branches,  each  one-flowered.  The  outer  glumes  are  3  to 
4  lines  long,  inflated  and  widened  below,  gradually  drawn  to  a  sharp-pointed 
apex,  thin  and  colorless  except  the  three  or  five  green  nerves,  and  slightly  hairy. 
The  glumes  inclose  an  ovate  flower,  which  is  covered  externally  with  a  profusion  of 
white,  silky  hairs,  and  tipped  with  a  short  awn,  which  falls  off  at  maturity.  This 
apparent  flower  is  the  flowering  glume,  of  a  hard,  coriaceous  texture,  and  incloses  a 
similar  hard,  but  not  hairy,  and  smaller  palet. 

In  Montana  it  is  one  of  the  most  esteemed  bunch  grasses,  and  thrives 
on  soil  too  sandy  for  other  valuable  species.  Professor  Brewer  states 
that  in  southern  California  it  is  called  saccatoo  or  saccatoa.     (Plate  39.) 

MILIUM. 

Spikelets  panicled  ;  outer  glumes  membranaceous,  equal  and  convex,  the  flowering 
glume  and  its  palet  coriaceous,  much  as  in  I'anicutn,  but  the  articulation  with  the 
rhachis  is  above  the  outer  glumes.  All  the  glumes  are  unawned,  aud  there  is  no  ster- 
ile pedicel. 


43 

Milium  effusum. 
A  tall,  perennial  grass,  4  or  5  feet  high,  growing  in  clamp  woods  iu  the  northern 

portions  of  the  United  States  and  in  Canada.     It  is  also  found  in  Northern  Europe 
and  iu  Russian  Asia. 

IIou.  J.  S.  Gould,  iii  the  Report  of  the  New  York  State  Agricultural 
Society,  says,  respecting  this  grass  : 

Meadows  and  borders  of  streams  and  cold  woods.  It  thrives  when  transplanted  t<> 
open  and  exposed  situations.  It  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  the  grasses;  the  pan- 
icle is  ofteu  a  foot  long,  and  the  branches  are  so  exceedingly  delicate-  that  the  small, 
glossy  spikelets  seem  to  be  suspended  in  the  air.  Birds  are  very  fond  of  the  seed. 
Mr.  Colman  says  that  he  has  raised  3  tons  to  the  acre  of  as  good,  nutritions  hay  as 
could  be  grown  from  it,  when  sown  iu  May.  The  plants  multiply  by  the  roots  as 
well  as  by  the  seed,  sending  out  horizontal  shoots  of  considerable  length,  which  root 
at  the  joint  as  they  extend. 

(Plate  40.) 

MUHLENBERGIA, 

Spikelets  one-flowered,  small,  paniculate,  articulated  above  the  outer  glumes; 
flowering  glume  with  a  very  short,  usually  hairy  callus. 

Muhlenbergia  diffusa  (Nimble  Will). 

Professor  Killebrew,  of  Tennessee,  says : 

It  is  hardly  more  than  necessary  to  mention  this  grass,  which  forms  in  many  sec- 
tions the  bulk  of  the  pastures  of  the  woods.  It  does  not  grow  in  fields,  but  in  woods, 
where,  after  rains  have  set  iu,  it  carpets  the  earth  with  living  green.  Various  opin- 
ions are  entertained  as  to  its  nutritive  qualities.  Some  fanners  assert  that  their  stock 
are  fond  of  it,  and  that  on  sufficient  range,  cattle,  horses  and  sheep  will  go  into  the 
winter  sleek  and  fat  from  this  vigorous  grass.  Others  regard  it  as  well  nigh  worth- 
less. 

(Plate  41.) 

Muhlenbergia  glomerata  (Spiked  Muhlenbergia). 

This  grass  grows*  ia  wet,  swampy  grounds,  chiefly  in  the  Northern 
and  Western  portions  of  the  United  States.  It  is  found  in  Colorado, 
Utah,  Nevada,  New  Mexico,  aud  Texas.  It  grows  to  the  height  of  2  or 
3  feet,  stifrty  erect  and  generally  unbranched. 

The  culm  is  hard,  somewhat  compressed,  and  very  leafy.  The  panicle  is  narrow, 
2  to  4  inches  long,  composed  of  numerous  close  clusters  of  flowers,  becoming  looser 
below,  forming  au  interrupted  glomerate  spike.  The  spikelets  are  closely  sessile  in 
the  clusters.  The  root-stock  is  hard  and  knotty,  aud  furnished  with  numerous  short, 
firm  shoots  or  stolons. 

Tn  the  Eastern  States  it  is  utilized  as  one  of  the  native  products  of 
wet  meadows  in  the  making  of  what  is  called  wild  hay.  Specimens 
have  been  sent  from  Colorado  and  Kansas,  and  recommended  as  an 
excellent  grass  for  forage.     (Plate  42.) 

Muhlenbergia  Mexicana. 

A  perennial  grass  of  decumbent  habit,  2  or  3  feet  high,  much  branched, 
from  scaly,  creeping  root  stocks.  It  is  frequently  found  in  moist  woods 
and  low  meadows  or  prairies.     It  probably  would  not  endure  upland 


44 

culture,  but  in  its  native  situations  if  fills  an  important  place  among 
natural  grasses.     (Plate  43.) 

Muhlenbergia  sylvatica. 

This  species  has  much  the  appearance  and  habit  of  Muhlenbergia  Ilex- 
han<i.  The  panicle  is  looser,  the  spikelets  not  so  densely  clustered,  and 
the  flowering  glume  bears  an  awn  two  or  three  times  as  long  as  itself. 
1 1  is  found  in  dry,  open,  or  rocky  woods  and  fence  corners.  In  agricult- 
ural value  it  corresponds  to  that  species.     (Plate  44.) 

PHLEUM. 

Fhleum  pratense  (Herd's  Grass  [of  New  England  and  New  York]). 

This  is  oue  of  the  commonest  and  best-known  grasses.  For  a  hay 
crop  it  is  extensively  cultivated,  especially  in  the  Northern  and  West- 
ern States.  The  height  of  the  grass  depends  on  the  soil  and  cultiva- 
tion. In  poor  ground  it  may  be  reduced  to  1  foot,  while  in  good  soil 
and  with  good  culture  it  readily  attains  3  feet,  and  occasionally  has 
been  found  twice  that  height.     It  is  a  pereunial  grass,  with  fibrous  roots. 

The  base  of  the  culm  is  sometimes  thickened  and  inclined  to  be  bulbous.  The  culm 
is  erect  and  firm,  with  four  or  five  leaves,  which  are  erect,  and  usually  4  to  G  inches 
long.  The  flower  spike  is  cylindrical  and  very  densely  flowered,  and  varies  from  2  to 
6  inches  in  length.  The  spikelets  are  sessile,  single-flowered,  and  cylindrical  or  ob- 
long in  outline.  The  outer  glumes  are  rather  wedge-form,  with  a  mncronare  point  or 
short  bristle.     The  main  nerve  on  the  back  is  fringed  with  a  few  short  hairs. 

This  grass,  as  known  in  cultivation,  is  supposed  to  have  been  intro- 
duced from  Europe,  but  the  earliest  account  that  we  have  of  its  culture 
is  that  given  by  Jared  Elliot,  who  says  it  was  found  by  a  Mr.  Timothy 
Herd  in  a  swamp  in  Xew  Hampshire,  and  that  he  began  its  cultivation. 
As  it  was  found  to  be  a  valuable  grass,  its  cultivation  soon  spread,  and 
it  was  known  as  Herd's  grass. 

It  was  not  introduced  into  cultivation  in  England  until  some  fifty 
years  later.  I  consider  it  very  probable  that  the  specimens  found  by 
Mr.  Herd  were  of  native  growth,  for  it  is  believed  to  be  native  in  the 
White  Mountains,  in  the  Kocky  Mountains,  in  Alaska,  and  in  Labrador. 
It  is  also  a  native  of  Europe.  But,  however  the  question  of  its  nativity 
may  be  settled,  the  thanks  of  this  country  are  due  to  Mr.  Herd  for  the 
introduction  into  agriculture  of  one  of  the  most  valuable  of  grasses.  It 
is  now  a  favorite  meadow  grass  over  a  large  part  of  the  country,  and  its 
hay  is  a  staple,  and  more  sought  after  in  the  markets  than  any  other 
kind. 

Timothy  thrives  best  on  moist,  loamy  soil  of  medium  tenacity,  and  is 
not  suited  to  light,  sandy,  or  gravelly  soils.  Under  favorable  circum- 
stances and  with  good  treatment  it  yields  very  large  crops,  often  four 
tons  to  the  acre.  One  writer  states  that  he  has  known  whole  fields 
in  Missouri  grow  to  the  height  of  5  or  0  feet,  the  soil,  a  pulverized 
clay,  being  particularly  suited  to  this  grass.     He  also  states  that  he  has 


45 

known  fields  of  this  grass  to  be  highly  productive  for  thirteen  years  in 

succession.  Fanners  should  not  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  the  roots  do 
not  extend  widely,  and  that  much  of  its  vitality  depends  on  the  thick- 
ened bulb-like  base  of  the  stem;  therefore  there  is  danger  that,  if  mowed 
too  late  in  the  season  so  that  the  bulbs  and  roots  are  left  unprotected 
from  the  weather,  they  may  suiter  from  the  action  of  frost,  being  some- 
times lifted  out  of  the  ground  from  this  cause. 

A  well-informed  farmer,  writing  in  the  Prairie  Farmer,  says  that 
Timothy  is  an  exhaustive  crop,  the  roots  not  penetrating  deeply  enough 
to  obtain  nourishment  from  the  subsoil.  Feeding  off  with  stock  lays 
the  crown  of  the  plants  bare,  which,  being  of  a  bulbous  nature,  are 
easily  injured  by  exposure.  When,  however,  the  aftermath  is  very 
abundant,  Timothy  meadows  may  be  pastured  sparingly  in  the  tall  to 
reduce  the  heavy  growth  of  rowan  that  sometimes  accumulates  so  as  to 
interfere  with  the  mower;  but  in  no  case  should  sheep  be  allowed  upon 
it,  as  they  are  very  apt  to  nip  off  the  crown  of  the  plant  and  thus  destroy 
it.  In  order  to  keep  up  the  productiveness  of  a  Timothy  meadow,  a  good 
top-dressing  of  s  able  manure  should  be  applied  and  evenly  spread  in 
the  fall.  This  will  protect  the  roots  and  cause  a  much  thicker  and 
stronger  growth.  Timothy  is  often  sown  with  clover  in  different  pro- 
portions, and  under  some  circumstances  this  is  a  judicious  practice. 
But  the  more  general  practice  is  to  have  the  Timothy  meadows  free 
from  other  plants,  and  to  sow  about  12  pounds  of  seed  to  the  acre. 

When  this  grass  is  grown  for  the  crop  of  seed,  it  should  be  allowed  to 
stand  until  the  heads  are  ripe;  30  bushels  to  the  acre  have  been  pro- 
duced. Of  course  the  hay  left  after  thrashing  out  the  seed  is  coarse 
and  of  inferior  value.  The  clean  seed  weighs  about  45  pounds  to  the 
bushel.     (Plate  45.) 

SPOROBOLUS. 

Spikelets  one,  rarely  two-flowered,  in  a  contracted  or  open  panicle ;  onter  glomes 
unequal,  the  lower  one  shorter,  often  acute,  unawned,  out1  to  three-nerved,  mem- 
branaceous; flowering  glume  mostly  longer,  unawned;  palet  about  equaling  the 
flowering  glume  and  of  the  same  texture,  prominently  two-nerved.  Seed  mostly 
loose  in  a  hyaline  or  rarely  coriaceous  pericarp. 

Sporobolus  cryptandrus. 

This  species  has  an  extensive  range.  It  is  common  in  sandy  fields  in 
the  Northern  and  Southern  States,  as  well  as  over  all  the  dry  plains 
west  of  the  Mississippi,  extending  from  British  America  to  Mexico,  fur- 
nishing a  considerable  share  of  the  wild  pasturage  of  that  region. 
(Plate  46.) 

Sporobolus  Indicus. 

This  grass  is  a  native  of  India,  but  has  spread  over  most  tropical  and 
warm  climates.  It  occurs  more  or  less  abundantly  in  all  the  Southern 
States,  and  is  called  smut  grass,  from  the  fact  that  after  dowering  the 
heads  become  affected  with  a  black  smut,     It  grows  in  tufts  or  loose 


46 

patches,  from  1J  to  3  feet  high,  with  an  abundance  of  long,  flat,  fine- 
pointed  leaves  at  the  base,  and  a  narrow  terminal  panicle,  frequently  a 
foot  in  length,  composed  of  short,  erect,  sessile  branches,  which  are 
very  closely  flowered. 

Professor  Phares  says : 

It  grows  abundantly  and  luxuriantly  on  many  uncultivated  fields  and  commons, 
and  furnishes  grazing  from  April  till  frost.  It  thrives  under  much  grazing  and  many 
mowings,  and  grows  promptly  after  each  if  the  soil  is  moist  enough.  Cattle  and 
horses  are  fond  of  it,  if  it  is  frequently  cut  or  grazed  down,  but  if  allowed  to  remain 
untouched  long  they  will  not  eat  it  unless  very  hungry,  as  it  becomes  tough  and  un- 
palatable and  probably  difficult  to  digest. 

(Plate  47.) 

AGROSTIS. 

Spikelets  one-flowered,  in  a  contracted  or  open  panicle  ;  outer  glumes  nearly  equal 
or  tbe  lower  rather  longer,  and  longer  than  the  flowering  glume,  one-nerved,  acute, 
unawned  ;  flowering  glume  shorter  and  wider,  hyaline,  three  to  five-nerved,  awnless 
or  sometimes  awned  on  the  back ;  palet  shorter  than  the  flowering  glume,  frequently 
reduced  to  a  small  scale  or  entirely  wanting  ;  stamens  usually  three;  grain  free. 

Agrostis  vulgaris  (Redtop,  Finetop,  Herd's  Grass  [of  Pennsylvania],  Bent  Grass,  etc.) 
A  perennial  grass,  growing  2  or  3  feet  high  from  creeping  root-stocks, 
which  interlace  so  as  to  make  a  very  firm  sod ;  the  culms  are  upright, 
or  sometimes  decumbent  at  the  base,  smooth,  round,  rather  slender  and 
clothed  with  four  or  five  leaves,  which  are  flat,  narrow,  and  roughish, 
from  3  to  6  inches  long,  with  smooth  sheaths,  and  generally  truncate 
ligules.     It  is  extensively  cutivated. 

Agrostis  alba,  the  florin  grass  of  Ireland,  and  Agrostis  stolonifera  are 
usually  considered  synonymous,  and  are  distinguished  from  Agrostis  vul- 
garis by  having  a  closer,  more  verticillated  panicle  and  with  longer  and 
more  acute  ligules. 

Mr.  J.  G.  Gould  says  of  Agrostis  vulgaris: 

This  is  a  favorite  grass  in  wet,  swampy  meadows,  where  its  interlacing,  thick  roots 
consolidate  the  sward,  making  a  firm  matting  which  prevents  the  feet  of  cattle  from 
poaching.  It  is  generally  considered  a  valuable  grass  in  this  country,  though  by  no 
means  the  best  one.  Cattle  eat  hay  made  from  it  with  a  relish,  especially  when 
mixed  with  other  grasses.  As  a  pasture  grass  it  is  much  valued  by  dairymen,  and  in 
their  opinion  the  butter  would  suffer  much  by  its  removal. 

Professor  Phares,  of  Louisiana,  says,  respecting  this  grass: 

It  grows  well  on  hill-tops  and  sides,  in  ditches,  gullies  and  marshes,  but  delights  in 
moist  bottom-land.  It  is  not  injured  by  overflow,  though  somewhat  prolonged.  It 
furnishes  considerable  grazing  during  warm  spells  in  winter,  and  in  spring  and  sum- 
mer an  abundant  supply  of  nutriment.  Cut  before  maturing  seed,  it  makes  hay  and 
a  large  quantity.  It  seems  to  grow  taller  in  the  Southern  States  than  it  does  farther 
north,  and  to  make  more  and  better  hay  and  grazing. 

Mr.  Flint  says: 

It  is  a  good  permanent  grass,  standing  our  climate  as  well  as  any  other,  and  con- 
sequently well  suited  to  our  pastures,  in  which  it  should  be  fed  close  ;  for  if  allowed 
to  grow  up  to  seed  the  cattle  refuse  it ;  and  this  seems  to  show  that  it  is  not  so  much 
relished  by  stock  as  some  of  the  other  pasture  grasses, 

(Plate  48.) 


47 

Agrostis  canina. 

A  grass  usually  of  low  size,  G  to  12  inches  high,  with  slender  calms, 
and  a  light,  flexible,  expanded  panicle,  and  with  a  perplexing  variety 
of  forms.     There  are  several  varieties  growing  in  mountainous  regions 

throughout  the  United  States,  and  in  Europe.  It  forms  a  close  sod, 
and  affords  considerable  pasturage  in  those  regions.  It  is  probably  one 
of  the  grasses  called  Rhode  Island  bent  grass. 

Agrostis  exarata. 

This  is  chiefly  a  northwestern  species,  being  found  in  Wisconsin  and  westward  to 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  also  from  British  America  and  California  to  Alaska.  It  is 
very  variable  in  appearance,  and  presents  several  varieties.  It  is  generally  more 
slender  in  growth  than  the  common  redtop.  The  panicle  is  usually  Longer,  narrower, 
and  looser.  In  all  the  forms  the  palet  is  wanting  or  is  very  minute.  The  form  chiefly 
growing  on  the  Pacific  slope  from  California  to  Alaska  is  often  more  robust  than  the 
Agrostis  vulgaris,  growing  2  to  3  feet  high,  with  astout,  firm  culm,  clothed  with  three 
or  four  broadish  leaves,  4  to  6  inches  long.  The  panicle  is  4  to  o'  inches  long,  pale 
green,  rather  loose,  but  with  erect  branches. 

It  deserves  trial  for  cultivation,  at  least  ou  the  Pacific  side  of  the  con- 
tiueut.     (Plate  49.) 

CINNA. 

Spikelets  one-flowered,  much  flattened,  in  an  open,  spreading  panicle  :  outer  glnmes 
lanceolate,  acute,  strongly  keeled,  hispid  on  the  keel,  the  upper  somewhat  longer 
than  the  lower ;  flowering  glume  manifestly  stalked  above  the  outer  glumes,  about 
the  same  length  as  the  outer  ones,  three-nerved,  short-awned  on  the  back  near  the 
apex;  palet  nearly  as  long  as  its  glume,  only  one-nerved  (probably  by  the  consolida- 
tion of  two,  Bentham);  stamen  one.     A  sterile  pedicel  sometimes  present. 

Cinna  arundinacea  (Wood  Eeed  Grass). 

A  perennial  grass,  with  erect  simple  culms  from  3  to  6  feet  high,  and  a  creeping 
rhizoma;  growing  in  swamps  and  moist,  shaded  woods  in  northern  or  mountainous 
districts.  The  leaves  are  broadly  linear  lanceolate,  about  1  foot  long,  4  to  (5  lines 
wide,  and  with  a  conspicuous  elongated  ligule.  The  panicle  is  from  G  to  12  inches 
long,  rather  loose  and  open  in  the  flower,  afterwards  more  close. 

This  leafy -stemmed  grass  furnishes  a  large  quantity  of  fodder,  but 
experiments  are  wanting  to  determine  its  availability  under  cultivation. 
(Plate  50.) 

Cinna  pendula. 

This  species  is  more  slender,  with  a  looser  drooping  panicle  and  more 
capillary  branches,  and  with  thinner  glumes.  It  occurs  in  the  same 
situations  as  the  preceding,  and  is  more  common  in  the  Rocky  Mount- 
ains and  Oregon. 

AMMOPHILA. 

Spikelets  one-flowered,  in  a  contracted,  spike-like  or  open,  diffuse  panicle,  with  or 
without  a  bristle-like  rudiment  opposite  the  palet;  outer  glnmes  large,  nearly  equal, 
rigid,  thick,  lanceolate,  acute,  keeled,  five-nerved;  flowering  glume  similar  in  texture. 
about  equal  in  length,  sometimes  mucronate  at  the  apex  ;  palet  as  long  as  iis  glume, 
of  similar  texture,  two-keeled,  sulcate  between  the  keels;  hairs  at  the  base  of  the 
flower  usually  scanty  and  short, 


48 

Ammophila  aiundinacea  (Beacb  Grape;  Sand  (ii 

This  is  Galamagrostis  arenaria  of  the  older  books.  The  entire  plant 
is  of  a  wliitisli,  or  pale-green  color.  It  grows  on  sandy  beaches  of  the 
Atlantic,  at  least  as  far  south  as  Xorth  Carolina,  and  on  the  shores  of 
the  Great  Lakes,  but  has  not,  so  far,  been  recorded  from  the  Pacific 
coast.  It  also  grows  on  the  sea-coast  of  the  British  Isles  and  of  Europe. 
It  forms  tufts  of  greater  or  less  extent,  "its  long,  creeping  roots  extend- 
ing sometimes  to  the  extent  of  40  feet,  and  bearing  tubers  the  size  of  a 
pea,  interlaced  with  death-like  tenacity  of  grasp,  and  form  a  net-work 
beneath  the  sand  which  resists  the  most  vehement  assault  of  the  ocean 
waves."  The  culms  are  from  2  to  3  feet  high,  rigid  and  solid ;  the  leaves 
long,  involute,  smooth,  stiff,  and  slender-pointed;  the  panicle  is  dense, 
0  to  10  inches  long,  close  and  spike-like;  the  spikelets  are  about  half 
an  inch  long,  compressed,  crowded  on  very  short  branchlets. 

This  grass  has  no  agricultural  value,  but  from  time  immemorial  its 
utility  in  binding  together  the  loose  sands  of  the  beach,  and  restrain- 
ing the  inroads  of  the  ocean,  has  been  recognized  and  provided  for  in 
some  places  by  law.  Mr.  Flint,  in  his  work  on  grasses,  says  that  the 
town  and  harbor  of  Provincetown,  once  called  Cape  Cod,  where  the 
Pilgrims  first  landed,  one  of  the  largest  and  most  important  harbors  of 
the  United  States,  sufficient  in  depth  for  ships  of  largest  size,  and  in 
extent  to  anchor  three  thousand  vessels  at  once,  owe  their  preservation 
to  this  grass.  The  usual  way  of  propagating  the  grass  is  by  transplant- 
ing the  roots.  It  is  pulled  up  by  hand  and  placed  in  a  hole  about  a 
foot  deep  and  the  sand  pressed  around  it  by  the  foot.  There  are  un- 
doubtedly many  places  on  the  sea-coast  where  this  grass  would  be  of 
inestimable  value  in  restraining  the  encroachment  of  the  ocean.  It 
would  also  be  useful  in  forming  a  dense  turf  for  the  protection  of  dikes 
and  banks  subject  to  water-washingc 

CALAMAGROSTIS. 

This  genus  is  characterized  by  having  one-flowered  spikelets,  with  the  addition 
at  the  base  of  the  flowering  glume  of  a  small  hairy  appendage  or  pedicel,  which  is 
considered  to  be  the  rudiment  of  a  second  flower.  In  addition  to  this  the  flower  is 
also  generally  surrounded  at  the  base  with  a  ring  of  soft  hairs,  and  the  flowering 
glmne  usually  bears  an  awn  on  its  back,  which  is  generally  bent  and  twisted. 

In  this  genus  there  are  two  sections,  viz:  1st.  Deyeuxia.  in  which  there  is  a  small 
hairy  pedicel  in  front  of  the  palet  of  the  single  perfect  flower  :  the  glunres  thin  and 
membranaceous.  In  this  section  are  most  of  our  North  American  species.  2d,  Calamo- 
vilfa,  in  which  the  glumes  and  palet  are  thicker  and  more  compressed,  and  the  sterile 
pedicel  or  rudiment  is  wanting. 

Calamagrostis  (Deyeuxia)  Canadensis  (Blue-joint;  Small  Eeed  Grass). 

A  stout,  erect,  tall  perennial  grass,  growing  chiefly  in  wet,  boggy 
ground  or  in  low,  moist  meadows.  Its  favorite  situation  is  in  cool,  ele- 
vated regions.  It  prevails  in  all  the  northern  portions  of  the  United 
States,  in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  in  British  America.  In  those  dis- 
tricts it  is  one  of  the  best  and  most  productive  of  the  indigenous  grasses. 


It  varies  much  in  luxuriance  of  foliage  and  size  of  panicle,  according 

to  the  locatiou. 

The  culms  are  from  :*  to  5  feet  high,  stout  and  hollow,  hence  in  some  places  it  is 
called  the  small  reed  grass.     The  Leaves  arc  1  fool  or  more  long,  flat,  from  a  quarter 

to  nearly  half  an  inch  wide,  and  roughi&h  :  the  stein  and  sheaths  smooth. 

The  panicle  is  oblong  in  outline,  open,  and  somewhat  spreading, especially  (taring 
flowering;  it  is  from  4  to  C  or  even  S  inches  in  length,  and  "J  or 3  inches  in  diameter, 
of  a  purplish  color;  the  branches  are  mostly  in  lives  at  intervals  of  an  inch  0] 
These  branches  vary  in  length  from  1  to  3  inches,  the  long  ones  flowering  only  toward 
the  extremity.  The  spikelets  are  short-stalked,  the  outer  glumes  about  one  and  one- 
half  lines  long,  lanceolate  and  acute;  the  silky  white  hairs  at  the  base  of  the  flower- 
ing glume  are  about  as  long  as  the  glume  :  those  on  the  sterile  pedicel  also  nearly  as 
long.  The  flowering  glume  is  thin  and  delicate,  about  as  long  as  the  outer  glumes. 
and  somewhat  finely  toothed  at  the  apex,  three  to  five-nerved,  and  bearing  on  the 
back,  below  the  middle,  a  delicate  awn,  reaching  about  to  the  point  of  the  glume,  and 
not  much  stouter  than  the  hairs.  The  proper  palet  is  thin,  oblong,  and  about  two- 
thirds  the  length  of  its  glume. 

Mr.  J.  S.  Gould  says : 

It  constitutes  about  one-third  of  the  natural  grasses  on  the  Beaver  Dam  Meadows 
of  the  Adirondacks.  It  is  certain  that  cattle  relish  it  very  much,  both  in  its  green 
state  and  when  made  into  hay,  and  it  is  equally  certain  that  the  fanners  who  have  it 
on  their  farms  believe  it  to  be  one  of  the  best  grasses  of  their  meadows. 

Professor  Crozier,  who  spent  some  time  in  northwestern  Iowa  and 
adjacent  parts  of  Minnesota  and  Dakota,  in  studying  the  native  graa 
says : 

This  is  considered  by  some  to  produce  the  best  hay  for  cattle  of  all  the  native 
grasses.  It  is  very  leafy,  and  stands  remarkably  thick  on  the  ground.  The  seed 
ripens  early  in  July,  but  the  leaves  remain  green  until  winter.  It  is  probably 
hardly  equal  to  some  of  the  upland  grassss  in  quality,  but  it  gives  a  larger  yield,  and 
is  undoubtedly  worthy  of  cultivation.  It  is  usually  found  upon  the  margins  of  ponds; 
it  Will  thrive,  however,  on  land  that  is  only  slightly  moist,  and  often  occurs  along 
the  banks  of  roadside  ditches.  On  rather  low  land  which  has  been  broken  and 
allowed  to  go  back  it  frequently  comes  in,  and  after  a  few  years  occupies  the  land  to 
the  exclusion  of  all  other  vegetation. 

(Plate  51.) 

Calamagrostis  (Deyeuxia)  sylvatica  (Bunch  Grass). 

.  A  coarse  perennial  grass,  growing  in  large  tofts,  usually  in  sandy 
ground  in  the  Bocky  Mountains  at  various  altitudes,  also  in  California, 
Oregon,  aud  British  America.  It  furnishes  an  abundant  coarse  forage 
in  the  regions  where  it  is  found.  The  culms  are  from  1  to  2  feet  high, 
erect,  rigid,  and  leafy;  the  radical  leaves  are  frequently  as  long  as  the 
culm,  two  or  three  lines  wide,  sometimes  flat,  but  generally  involute 
and  rigid.  The  culm  leaves  are  from  3  to  G  or  8  inches  long,  rigid 
and  rough.  The  panicle  is  narrow  and  spike-like,  3  to  5  inches  long, 
erect,  rather  dense,  sometimes  interrupted  below,  and  varying  from  pale 
green  to  purple.  (Plate  52.) 
Calamagrostis  longifolia. 

This  grass  grows  on  the  sandy  plains  of  the  interior  from  British  America  to  Ari- 
zona, and  on  the  borders  of  the  Great  Lakes.     It  has  strong,  running  root-to.  ks.  like 

3594  CrR 4 


50 

the  preceding,  but  is  much  taller,  the  culms  being  3  to  6  feet  high,  stout  and  reed- like  ; 
the  leaves  long,  rigid,  and  becoming  involute,  with  a  long,  thread-like  point.  The 
panicle  is  quite  variable,  from  4  to  1G  inches  long,  at  first  rather  close,  but  becoming 
open  and  spreading,  the  branches  in  the  smaller  forms  being  2  or  3  inches  long,  and 
in  the  larger  ones  often  10  or  12  inches  and  widely  spreading.  It  is  abundant  on  the 
plains  of  western  Nebraska,  Kansas,  and  Colorado,  and  furnishes  a  resource  in  winter 
for  food  for  the  cattle  of  the  ranches. 

(Plate  53.) 

HOLCUS. 

Spikelets  two-flowered,  crowded  in  an  open  panicle,  the  lower  flower  perfect,  the 
upper  one  male  only,  and  with  a  minute,  hairy  rhachilla  or  rudiment  at  its  base. 
Outer  glumes  nearly  equal,  compressed,  membranaceous,  large  (fully  inclosing  the 
two  flowers),  flowering  glumes  half  shorter,  the  lowest  awuless,  the  upper  with  a 
short  dorsal  awn. 

Holcus  lanatus  (Velvet  Grass;  Velvet  Mesquite;  Soft  Grass,  etc.). 

Introduced  from  Europe  and  naturalized  in  many  parts  of  the  United 
States.  It  makes  a  striking  and  beautiful  appearance,  but  stock  are  not 
very  fond  of  it,  either  green  or  cured.  It  is  a  perennial,  but  not  very 
strongly  rooted,  and  does  not  spread  from  the  root  as  do  most  perennial 
grasses.  It  seeds  abundantly,  and  is  generally  propagated  by  seed, 
though  sometimes  by  dividing  the  plants.  It  prefers  low  land,  but  does 
very  well  even  on  sandy  upland,  and  its  chief  value  is  in  being  able  to 
grow  on  land  too  poor  for  other  grasses. 

The  seed  has  been  in  market  many  years,  but  it  has  come  into  culti- 
vation very  slowly,  and  it  is  not  generally  held  in  very  high  esteem  as 
an  agricultural  grass,  either  in  this  country  or  in  Europe.  Some  speak 
well  of  it,  however,  and  it  has  frequently  been  sent  to  the  Department 
from  the  South,  with  strong  recommendations  for  its  productiveness. 

C.  Menelas,  Savannah,  Ga. : 

Known  almost  all  over  the  South  as  yielding  more  than  orchard  grass,  but  for  some 
reason  only  grown  where  nature  lias  planted  it. 

Mrs.  J.  W.  Bryan,  Dillon,  northwestern  Georgia : 

My  meadows  and  ditches  are  full  of  it,  though  it  is  not  sown  here.  It  is  very  valu- 
able for  pasture,  and  gives  a  very  early  aud  heavy  yield  of  hay. 

L.  S.  Kicholson,  Cruinly,  northeastern  Alabama: 

This  grass  has  been  grown  on  a  farm  I  own  for  about  teu  years.  It  does  best  on 
rich,  moist  land,  but  grows  fairly  well  on  poor,  dry,  sandy  laud,  where  other  and,  I 
must  say,  better  grasses  fail. 

It  grows  from  2  to  3  feet  high,  and  makes  apparently  sufficient  hay,  but  very  light 
and  chaffy  and  of  inferior  quality.  It  appears  to  be  Lardy  and  will  withstand  drought 
well.  The  grass  is  right  pretty  when  growing,  and  nice  for  pasturing,  but  we  have 
other  grasses  so  much  better  that  can  generally  be  grown  on  laud  that  this  would 
occupy  that  I  shall  vote  against  it  for  all  purposes. 

Clarke  Lewis,  Chftonville,  Miss. : 

It  grows  on  poor,  sandy  laud  to  a  height  of  3  to  4  feet ;  stands  drought  well,  but 
can  be  killed  by  a  slight  overflow.  It  is  valuable  as  a  soiling  plant,  but  makes  infe- 
rior hay.  It  is  au  annual,  and  if  intended  for  a  permanent  meadow  must  be  cut  only 
once,  and  then  allowed  to  reseed  itself. 


51 

II.  W.  L.  Lewis,  secretary  Louisiana  state  Grange,  Tangipahoa  Par- 
ish, La.  (P.  O.,  Osyka,  Miss.): 

It  is  hardy  and  cultivated  in  small  lots,  doing  best  on  rich,  sandy  loam,  yielding  2 
to  3  tons  per  acre.  I  have  experimented  more  than  any  one  else  in  my  section  with 
forage  plants,  especially  winter  grains  and  grasses.  Have  used  rye  and  barley  for 
winter  feed,  but  have  given  them  up  in  favor  of  the  Holcua  lanatlts;  have  had  this  in 
cultivation  for  thirty  years.  It  is  a  perennial,  hut  owing  to  its  shallow  roots  it  dies 
out  during  our  long,  dry  summer  and  fall  from  50  to  75  percent.  One  lot  kept  the 
third  year  had  less  than  10  per  cent,  of  the  grass  alive.  Bence  I  have  for  twenty 
years  or  more  used  it  as  an  annual,  sowing  it  with  turnips,  collards,  or  by  itself.  A 
good  way  is  to  sow  the  seed  broadcast  and  cover  lightly  in  a  late  crop  of  turnips  after 
the  last  cultivation.  After  the  turnip  crop  is  removed  the  first  warm  days  in  January 
or  February  will  start  the  grass  into  rapid  growth.  It  is  cut  frequently  through  the 
spring  for  green  feed,  arid  after  oats  are  ready  to  cut  is  allowed  to  mature  seed. 

Prof.  D.  L.  Phares,  in  his  " Farmer's  Book  of  Grasses,"  says: 

In  the  Eastern  States  this  grass  is  called  Salem  grass  and  white  Timothy ;  in  the 
South,  velvet  lawn  grass,  and  velvet  mesquite  grass;  in  England,  woolly  soft  grass 
and  Yorkshire  white.  It  has  been  sent  to  me  for  name  more  frequently  than  any 
other  grass.  Having  found  its  way  to  Texas,  people  going  there  from  other  States 
have  sent  back  seeds  to  their  friends,  calling  it  Texas  velvet  mesquite  grass,  supposing 
it  a  native  of  that  State.  So  far  as  has  come  to  my  knowledge  nine-tenths  of  all  so- 
called  mesquite  grass  planted  in  the  Southern  States  is  this  European  velvet  grass. 
It  grows  much  larger  in  some  of  the  Southern  States  than  in  the  Eastern  States  or  in 
England,  and  seems  to  have  greatly  improved  by  acclimation. 

Velvet  grass  may  be  readily  propagated  by  sowing  the  seed  or  dividing  the  roots. 
It  luxuriates  in  moist,  peaty  lands,  but  will  grow  on  poor,  sandy,  or  clay  hill  lands 
and  produce  remunerative  crops  where  few  others  will  make  anything.  The  reason 
that  cattle  do  not  prefer  it  is  not  because  of  a  deficiency  in  nutrition,  but  because  of 
its  combination.  It  is  deficient  simply  in  saline  and  bitter  extractive  matter  which 
cattle  relish  in  grasses. 

It  is  by  no  means  the  best  of  our  grasses,  but  best  on  some  lands.     Other  gi 
are  more  profitable  to  me.    It  should  be  sown  from  August  to  October,  14  pounds  equal 
to  2  bushels  per  acre.     Northward  it  is  perennial,  in  the  South  it  is  not  strictly  so. 

(Plate  54.) 

TRISETUM. 

Spikelets  two  to  three,  rarely  five-flowered,  in  a  dense  or  open  pan- 
icle, the  rachis  usually  hairy  and  produced  into  a  bristle  at  the  base  of 
the  upper  flower;  outer  glumes  unequal,  acute,  keeled,  membranaceous, 
with  scarious  margins;  flowering  glumes  of  similar  texture,  keeled, 
acute,  the  apex  two-toothed,  the  teeth  sometimes  prolonged  into  bristle- 
like  points,  the  middle  nerve  furnished  with  an  awn  attached  above  the 
middle,  which  is  usually  twisted  at  the  base  and  bent  in  the  middle ; 
palet  hyaline,  narrow,  two-nerved,  two-toothed. 

Trisetum  palustre. 

A  slender  grass,  usually  about  2  feet  high,  growing  in  low  meadows  or 
moist  ground  throughout  the  eastern  part  of  the  United  States.  The 
culms  are  smooth,  with  long  internodes  and  few  linear  leaves,  2  to  4 
inches  long;  the  panicle  is  oblong,  3  to  4  inches  long,  loose  and  grace- 
fully drooping,  the  branches  two  to  live  together,  rather  capillary,  1  to 


52 

\.\  inches  long  and  loosely  flowered ;  the  spikelets  are  two-flowered; 
tbe  outer  glumes  are  about  two  lines  long,  the  lower  one  one-nerved, 
the  upper  rather  obovate  and  three-nerved ;  the  lower  flower  is  com- 
monly awnless  or  only  tipped  with  a  short  awn;  the  second  flower  is 
rather  shorter  and  with  a  slender,  spreading  awn  longer  than  the  flower. 
This  is  a  nutritious  grass,  but  is  seldom  found  in  sufficient  quantity 
to  be  of  much  value.     (Plate  55.) 

Trisetum  subspicatum. 

The  culms  are  erect  and  firm,  smooth  or  downy.  The  panicle  is  spike-like,  dense, 
and  cylindrical  or  elongated,  and  more  or  less  interrupted,  generally  of  a  purplish 
color.  The  spikelets  are  two  or  three-flowered.  The  flowers  are  a  little  longer  than 
the  outer  glumes,  slightly  scabrous,  the  flowering  glumes  acutely  two-toothed  at  the 
apex,  and  bearing  a  stout  awn  which  is  longer  thau  its  glume. 

A  perennial  grass  of  the  mountainous  region  of  Europe  and  North 
America ;  undoubtedly  furnishes  a  considerable  portion  of  mountain 
pasturage.  It  is  found  sparingly  in  New  England,  on  the  shores  of 
Lake  Superior,  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  of  Colorado,  Utah,  California, 
Oregon,  and  northward  to  the  Arctic  circle.  It  varies  in  height  accord- 
ing to  the  latitude  at  which  it  grows,  being  sometimes  reduced  to  3  or 
4  inches,  at  other  times  running  up  to  2  feet  high.     (Plate  50.) 

AVBNA. 
A  vena  fatua  (Wild  Oats). 

This  species  is  very  common  in  Calfornia.  It  is  generally  thought  to 
have  been  introduced  from  Europe,  where  it  is  native,  but  it  has  become 
diffused  over  many  other  countries,  including  Australia  and  South 
America.  It  is  thought  by  some  to  be  the  original  of  the  cultivated 
oat,  Arena  saliva,  that  the  common  will  degenerate  into  the  wild  oat, 
and  that  by  careful  cultivation  and  selection  of  seed  the  wild  oat  can 
be  changed  into  the  common  cultivated  oat.  But  on  this  question  there 
is  a  conflict  of  opinions,  and  the  alleged  facts  are  not  sufficiently  estab- 
lished. The  wild  oat  differs  from  the  cultivated  one  chiefly  in  having 
more  flowers  in  the  spikelets,  in  the  long,  brown  hairs  which  cover  the 
flowering  glumes,  in  the  constant  presence  of  the  long,  twisted  awn, 
and  in  the  smaller  size  aud  lighter  weight  of  the  grain.  It  is  a  great 
injury  to  any  grain-field  in  which  it  may  be  introduced ;  but  for  the 
purposes  of  fodder,  of  which  it  makes  a  good  quality,  it  has  been  much 
employed  in  California.     (Plate  57.) 

ARRHENATHERUM. 

Arrheuatherum  avenaceurn  (Evergreen  Grass;  Meadow  Oat  Grass;  Tall  Oat  Grass). 
Culms  2  to  4  feet  high,  erect,  rather  stout,  with  four  or  five  leaves  each  :  the  sheaths 
smooth,  the  leaves  somewhat  rough  on  the  upper  surface,  6  to  10  inches  long,  and  about 
[\  lines  wide,  gradually  pointed.  The  panicle  is  loose,  rather  contracted,  from  6  to  10 
inches  long,  and  rather  drooping;  the  branches  very  unequal,  mostly  in  fives,  the 
longer  ones  1  to  3  inches,  and  subdivided  from  about  the  middle:  the  smaller  branches 
very  short,  all  rather  full-flowered,    The  spikelets  are  mostly  on  short  pedicels,    The 


53 

structure  of  the  flowers  is  similar  to  iliat  of  common  oats,  buf  different  iu  sev<  raJ 
particulars.  The  spikelel  consists  of  two  flowers,  the  loner  of  which  is  stamiuate 
only,  the  upper  one  both  Btamiuate  and  pistillate;  the  outer  glunu  i  and 

transparent,  the  upper  ones  about  1  lines  long  and  three-nerved,  the  low  crone  nearly 
:?  lines  long  and  one-nerved.  The  flowering  glome  is  about  1  lines  long,  gr^<  u, 
strongly  seven-nerved.  Lanceolate,  acute,  hairy  at  base,  roughish,  and  in  the  lower 
flower  gives  rise  on  the  back  below  the  middle  to  a  long,  twisted,  and  bent  awn  ;  in 
the  upper  flower  the  glume  is  merely  bristle-pointed  near  the  apex.  The  palet  is  thin 
and  transparent,  linear  and  two-toothed. 

This  grass  is  much  valued  on  the  continent  of  Europe.  The  herbage 
is  very  productive  and  its  growth  rapid.  When  growing  with  other 
grasses,  cattle  and  sheep  eat  it  very  well,  but  do  not  like  to  be  confined 

to  it  exclusively.     It  is  a  perennial  grass  of  strong,  vigorous  growth,  in- 
troduced from  Europe  and  sparingly  cultivated. 
Professor  Phares,  of  Mississippi,  says : 

It  is  widely  naturalized  and  well  adapted  to  a  great  variety  of  soils.  On  sandy  or 
gravelly  soils  it  succeeds  admirably,  growing  2  to  3  feet  high.  On  rich,  dry  upland  it 
grows  from  5  to  7  feet  high.  It  has  an  abundance  of  perennial,  long,  fibrous  roots 
penetrating  deeply  in  the  soil,  being  therefore  less  affected  by  drought  or  cold,  and 
enabled  to  yield  a  large  quantity  of  foliage,  winter  and  summer.  These  advantages 
render  it  one  of  the  very  best  grasses  for  the  South,  both  for  grazing,  being  evergreen, 
and  for  hay,  admitting  of  being  cut  twice  a  year.  It  is  probably  the  best  winter 
grass  that  can  be  obtained.  It  will  make  twice  as  much  hay  as  Timothy.  To  make 
good  hay  it  must  be  cut  as  soon  as  it  blooms,  and  after  it  is  cut  must  not  be  wet  by  dew 
or  rain,  which  damages  it  greatly  in  quality  and  appearance.  For  green  soiling  it  may 
be  cut  four  or  five  times,  with  favorable  seasons.  In  from  six  to  ten  days  after  bloom- 
ing the  seeds  begin  to  ripen  and  fall,  the  upper  ones  hist.  It  is  therefore  a  little 
troublesome  to  save  the  seed.  As  soon  as  those  at  the  top  of  the  panicle  ripen  suffi- 
ciently to  begin  to  drop,  the  panicle  should  be  cut  off  and  dried,  when  the  seeds  will 
all  thrash  out  readily  and  be  matured. 

After  the  seeds  are  ripe  and  taken  off,  the  long,  abundant  leaves  and  stems  are  still 
green,  and  being  mowed  make  good  hay.  It  may  be  sown  in  March  or  April  and 
mowed  the  same  season  ;  but  for  heavier  yield  it  is  better  to  sow  in  September  or  Octo- 
ber. Xot  less  than  2  bushels  (14  pounds)  per  acre  should  be  sown.  The  average  an- 
nual nutriment  yielded  by  this  grass  in  the  Southern  belt  is  probably  twice  as  great 
as  in  Pennslyvania  and  other  Northern  States. 

A.  P.  Eowe,  Frederieksburgh,  Va.  : 

Tall  oat  grass  has  been  seeded  here  and  does  well.  It  comes  in  with  orchard 
grass  for  hay,  and  the  two  might  be  seeded  together  with  the  best  results. 

T.  W.  Wood  &  Sons,  Richmond,  Va. : 

It  is  cultivated  very  generally  for  pasture  and  hay  :  and  is  the  best  grass  we  know 
for  thin  soils.  It  is  hardy,  stands  drought  moderately  well,  is  easily  subdued,  and 
lasts  live  or  six  years. 

Dr.  W.  J.  Beal,  Agricultural  College,  Michigan  : 

It  is  cultivated  in  a  Few  places  in  the  State,  proving  perfectly  hardy,  and  doing  best 
on  deep,  porous  soils  where  it  stands  drought  very  well,  yielding  perhaps  3  tons 
per  acre.     It  makes  good  pasture,  and  lasts  a  long  time. 

J.  J.  Dotson,  Cedarton,  Tex. 

It  is  very  fair  for  early  spring  pastures,  and  to  cut  for  green  feed  when  it  first  heads, 
in  March,  but  it  is  not  liked  as  hay.  It  is  too  light  and  the  seeds  fall  oft'  too  easily. 
I  have  never  known  it  cultivated.     Thrives  only  on  low  bottom-land. 

(Plate  58.) 


54 


CYNODON. 

Cynodon  Dactylon  (Bermuda  Grass). 

Alow,  creeping  perennial  grass, -with  abundant  short  leaves  at  the  base,  sending 
up  slender,  nearly  leafless,  flower  stalks  or  culms,  which  have  three  to  five  slender, 
diverging  spikes  at  the  summit.  The  spikelets  are  sessile  in  two  rows  on  one  side  of 
the  slender  spikes ;  they  each  have  one  flower,  with  a  short-pediceled,  naked  rudi- 
ment of  a  second  flower;  the  outer  glumes  nearly  equal,  keeled  ;  the  flowering  glume 
boat-shaped,  broader,  and  prominently  keeled;  the  palet  narrow,  and  two-keeled. 

This  is  undoubtedly,  on  the  whole,  the  most  valuable  grass  in  the 
South.  It  is  a  native  of  Southern  Europe,  and  of  all  tropical  coun- 
tries. It  is  a  common  pasture-grass  in  the  West  Indies  and  the  Sand- 
wich Islands,  and  has  long  been  known  in  the  United  States,  but  the 
difficulty  of  eradicating  it  when  once  established  has  retarded  its  intro- 
duction into  cultivation.  Its  value,  however,  is  becoming  more  appre- 
ciated now  that  more  attention  is  being  given  to  grass  and  relatively 
less  to  cotton,  and  better  methods  and  implements  of  cultivation  are 
being  employed.  Still,  it  seems  probable,  from  the  reports  received, 
that  at  the  present  time  a  majority  of  farmers  would  prefer  not  to  have 
it  on  their  farms.  It  seeds  very  sparingly  in  the  United  States,  and  as 
the  imported  seed  is  not  always  to  be  had,  and  is  expensive,  and  often  of 
poor  quality,  those  who  have  desired  to  cultivate  it  on  a  large  scale 
have  seldom  been  able  to  do  so.  It  is  generally  used  as  a  lawn  grass, 
and  to  hold  levees  or  railroad  embankments,  and  for  small  pastures. 
In  some  localities,  however,  it  has  spread  over  a  considerable  extent  of 
territory.  Its  natural  extension  into  new  territory  has  been  slow, 
owing  to  the  partial  or  entire  absence  of  seed,  but  it  spreads  rapidly 
by  its  rooting  stems  when  introduced.  It  is  usually  propagated  arti- 
ficially by  means  of  the  sets  or  rooting  stems.  These  are  sometimes 
chopped  up  with  a  cutting-knife,  sown  broadcast,  and  plowed  under 
not  very  deeply ;  sometimes  they  are  dropped  a  foot  or  two  apart  iu 
shallow  furrows,  and  covered  by  a  plow;  sometimes  pieces  of  the  sod  are 
planted  two  feet  apart  each  way.  By  any  of  these  means  a  continuous 
sod  is  obtained  in  a  few  months  if  the  soil  is  good  and  well  prepared. 

The  chief  value  of  Bermuda  grass  is  for  summer  pasture.  It  grows 
best  in  the  hottest  weather,  and  ordinary  droughts  affect  it  but  little. 
The  tops  are  easily  killed  by  frosts,  but  the  roots  are  quite  hardy 
throughout  the  Southern  States.  It  is  grown  to  some  extent  as  far 
north  as  Virginia,  but  in  that  latitude  it  possesses  little  advantage  over 
other  grasses.  In  Tennessee,  according  to  Professor  Killebrew,  its 
chief  value  is  for  pasture,  there  being  other  grasses  there  of  more  value 
for  hay.  Farther  South,  however,  it  is  highly  prized  for  hay.-  To  make 
the  largest  quantity  and  best  quality  it  should  be  mowed  several  times 
during  the  season.  The  yield  varies  greatly  according  to  soil,  being 
generally  reported  at  from  a  ton  and  a  half  to  two  tons  per  acre.  Much 
larger  yields  have  been  reported,  however,  in  specially  favorable  local- 
ities where  several  cuttings  were  made. 


55 

Bermuda  grass  is  more  easily  eradicted  from  sandy  land  than  from 
clay,  and  on  such  land  may  be  more  safely  introduced  into  a  rotation. 
To  kill  it  out  it  should  be  rooted  up  or  plowed  very  shallowly  some  time 
in  December  and  cultivated  or  harrowed  occasionally  daring  the  winter. 
If  severe  freezes  occur  most  of  it  will  be  killed  by  spring;  or  it  may  be 
turned  under  deeply  in  spring  and  the  land  cultivated  in  some  hoed 
crop  or  one  which  will  heavily  shade  the  ground. 

M.  M.  Martin,  Comanche,  Comanche  County,  central  Texas: 

Bermuda  grass  grows  on  any  kind  of  soil  in  Texas,  but  will  not  stand  the  tramping 
of  stock  on  loose,  sandy  soil.  It  is  hard  to  beat  for  a  grazing  grass,  though  long 
droughts  cause  it  to  dry  up.     It  is  not  very  early  to  start  in  tin-  spring. 

Whitfield  Moore,  Woodland,  Red  River  County,  northeastern  Texas: 

Bermuda  stands  droughts  well,  isa  good  fertilizer,  grows  well  from  fifteen  to  t  wenty 
years  from  one  planting,  then  only  needs  plowing  to  renew  it.  It  is  tolerably  easily 
subdued  by  shallow  turning  in  early  winter,  so  that  it  will  freeze.  It  yields  heavy 
crops  of  hay  and  can  be  mowed  three  times  a  year.  It  is  the  finest  grass  1  have  ever 
seen  for  summer  grazing,  and  when  inclosed  from  stock  during  the  summer  it  is  tine 
winter  grazing.  It  will  stop  washing,  and  cause  low,  wet  land  to  till  up  and  become 
dry. 

E.  W.  Jones,  Buena  Vista,  Miss. : 

Bermuda  has  been  a  great  terror  to  planters  until  recently.  If  plowed  shallow  late 
in  the  fall,  and  allowed  to  freeze  during  winter,  there  is  no  trouble  to  cultivate  a  crop 
the  next  season.  The  ground  becomes  perfectly  mellow,  and  though  the  grass  is  not 
dead,  it  does  but  little  injury  to  the  crop. 

E.  Taylor,  Pope's  Ferry,  Ga.: 

Nothing  kills  it  except  severe  freezing.  It  is  the  best  of  all  grasses,  and  thrives  on 
any  soil,  but  best  on  clay.  It  furnishes  good  pasture  from  May  until  the  middle  of 
November.  For  winter  grazing  bur  clover  is  taking  its  place.  The  yield  of  hay  is 
about  2  tons  per  acre.  It  will  reclaim  the  poorest  lands,  and  is  not  very  difficult  to 
subdue.     It  ripens  seeds  in  this  State  sparingly. 

J.  B.  Wade,  Edgewood,  DeKalb  County,  northern  Georgia : 

This  is  about  the  most  northern  limit  at  which  Bermuda  grass  grows  in  this  State. 
It  is  beginning  to  be  highly  appreciated  both  for  grazing  and  for  hay.  It  stands 
drought  well,  keeping  green  from  May  until  November.  It  makes  good  hay,  and  can 
be  cut  two  or  three  times  a  year,  producing  on  an  average  2\  tons  of  hay  per  acre. 
While  this  is  the  most  northern  limit  of  Bermuda  grass,  it  is  also  the  most  southern 
limit  of  blue  grass.  The  two  growing  together  on  the  same  land  produce  a  most  per- 
fect pasture,  as  the  blue  grass  is  green  nearly  all  the  fall,  winter,  and  spring  months, 
while  during  the  heat  of  summer,  which  prevents  the  growth  of  the  blue  grass,  the 
Bermuda  flourishes.  The  two  together  in  good,  strong  soil  make  a  perfect  pasture, 
good  all  the  year  around. 

Prof.  S.  M.  Tracy,  now  Director  of  the  Mississippi  Agricultural  Ex- 
periment Station,  formerly  of  the  Agricultural  College,  Columbia,  Mo.: 

It  has  been  in  cultivation  near  St.  Louis,  in  one  locality  only,  for  many  years.  It 
barely  survives  the  winter  and  would  doubtless  be  destroyed  by  pasturing.  I  have 
noticed  it  very  carefully  about  New  Orleans,  where  it  is  by  far  the   most  valuable 


56 

permanent  pasture  grass,  and  is  thoroughly  naturalized,  if  not  a  native.  It  is  almost 
the  only  grass  grown  there  for  winter  pastare  or  for  lawns.  It  stands  drought  well, 
and  grows  anywhere  exeept  on  very  wet  ground.  It  can  he  subdued  hy  one  year  of 
thorough  culti\  ation. 

Prof.  J.  B.  Killebrew,  in  "The  Grasses  of  Tennessee,7'  says: 

Occasionally  the  traveler  meets  v\ith  patches  of  Bermuda  grass  in  the  cotton  fields 
of  the  South,  where  it  is  carefully  avoided  hy  the  planter,  any  disturbance  giviugnew 
stmt  to  its  vigorous  roots.  Some  ditch  around  it,  others  inclose  it  and  let  shruhhery 
do  the  work  of  destruction.  It  forms  a  sward  so  tough  that  it  is  almost  impossible 
for  a  plow  to  pass  through  it.  It  will  throw  its  runners  over  a  rock  0  feet  across  and 
hide  it  from  view,  or  it  will  run  down  the  sides  of  the  deepest  gully  and  stop  its 
washing.  It  does  not,  however,  endure  shade,  and  in  order  to  ohtain  a  good  stand 
the  weeds  must  he  mown  from  it  the  first  year.  It  Avould  he  a  good  grass  to  mix  with 
blue  grass,  as  when  it  disappears  in  winter  the  blue  grass  and  white  clover  Avould 
spring  up  to  keep  the  ground  in  a  constant  state  of  verdure.  This  experiment  has 
been  tried  with  eminent  success.  It  grows  luxuriantly  on  the  top  of  Lookout  Mount- 
ain, having  been  set  there  many  years  ago.  This  mountain  is  2,200  feet  high,  and 
has,  of  course,  excessively  cold  winters. 

(Plate  59.) 

SPARTINA. 

A  genus  of  coarse,  perennial  grasses,  growing  mainly  in  marshy  grounds,  from 
strong,  scaly  root  stocks.  The  flowers  are  produced  in  one-sided  sifikes  of  the  pan- 
icle. The  spikelets  are  closely  sessile,  and  mostly  crowded  on  the  triangular  axis. 
They  are  one-flowered,  and  much  flattened  laterally.  The  empty  glumes  are  unequal 
strongly  compressed  and  keeled,  acute,  the  keel  mostly  hispid,  the  upper  one  longer 
than  the  lower ;  flowering  glume  compressed  and  keeled,  awnless ;  palet  about 
equaling  its  glume. 

Spartina  cynosuroides  (Cord  Grass). 

A  coarse  and  stout  grass,  growing  from  3  to  5  feet  high,  with  leaves  2  to  3  feet 
long.  The  top  of  the  culm  for  about  1  foot  is  occupied  by  from  five  to  ten  spikes,  which 
are  from  l-£  to  3  inches  long,  and  the  spikelets  are  very  closely  imbricated.  The 
lower  glume  is  linear-lauceolate,  the  upper  one  lanceolate  with  a  long,  stiff  point. 

This  species  has  a  ^vide  range,  from  near  the  coast  to  the  base  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  In  the  Western  States  it  is  very  common,  often 
forming  a  large  part  of  the  grass  of  the  sloughs  and  wet  marshes  of 
that  region.  It  is  frequently  cut  for  hay,  but  is  of  inferior  quality 
unless  cut  very  early. 

In  the  bottom-lauds  of  the  Mississippi,  where  it  is  abundant,  it  has 
been  manufactured  into  paper.     (Plate  60.) 

Spartina  juncea  (Salt  Grass  :  Marsh  Grass). 

A  much  smaller  species  than  the  preceding,  usually  1  to  2  feet  high,  from  a 
creeping,  scaly  root  stock,  the  culms  rigid  aud  the  leaves  nearly  round  and  rush-like. 
There  are  from  two  to  five  spikes,  which  are  1£  to  2  inches  long  and  on  short  peduncles. 

This  grass  forms  a  large  portion  of  the  salt-marshes  near  the  coast. 
It  makes  an  inferior  hay,  called  salt  hay,  which  is  worth  about  half  as 
much  per  ton  as  Timothy  and  redtop.  It  is  much  employed  as  a  pack- 
ing material  by  hardware  and  crockery  dealers.     (Plate  01.) 


51 

BOUTELOUA. 

(Grama  Grass.) 

Spikes  single  or  numerous  in  a  racemose,  commonly  one-eided  panicle;  Bpikeleta 
commonly  densely  crowded  in  two  rows  on  one  side  of  the  rhachis,  each  consisl 
one  perfect  flower  and  a  stalked  pedicel  bearing  empty  glumes  and  one  to  tin. 
awns;  outer  glumes  unequal,  acute,  keeled,  membranaceous  ;  flowering  glume  broader, 

usually  thicker,  with  three  to  five  lobes,  teeth,  or  awns  at  the  apex  :  palel   narrow 
hyaline,  entire  or  two-toothed,  infolded  by  its  glume. 

Bouteloua  oligostachya  (Grama  Grass;  Mesquite  Gra 

This  is  the  commonest  species  on  the  great  plains.     It  is  frequently 

called  buffalo  grass,  although  that  name  strictly  belongs  to  another 

plant  (Buchloe  dactyloides).    On  the  arid  plains  of  the  West  it  is  the 

principal  grass  and  is  the  main  reliance  for  the  vast  herds  of  cattle 
which  are  raised  there.  It  grows  chiefly  in  small,  roundish  patches 
closely  pressed  to  the  ground,  the  foliage  being  in  a  dense,  cushion-like 
mass.  The  leaves  are  short  and  crowded  at  the  base  of  the  short 
stems.  The  flowering  stalks  seldom  rise  over  a  foot  in  height,  and  bear 
near  the  top  one  or  two  flower-spikes,  each  about  an  inch  long,  and  from 
one-eighth  to  one-quarter  of  an  inch  wide,  standing  out  at  right  angles 
like  a  small  flag  floating  in  the  breeze.  Where  much  grazing  prevails, 
however,  these  flowering  stalks  are  eaten  down  so  much  that  only  the 
mats  of  leaves  are  observable.  In  bottom-lands  and  low,  moist  ground 
it  grows  more  closely,  and  under  favorable  circumstances  forms  a  pretty 
close  sod,  but  even  then  it  is  not  adapted  for  mowing,  although  it  is 
sometimes  cut,  making  a  very  light  crop.  Under  the  most  favorable 
circumstances  the  product  of  this  grass  is  small  compared  with  the 
cultivated  grasses.  It  is  undoubtedly  highly  nutritious.  Stock  of  all 
kinds  are  fond  of  it  and  eat  it  in  preference  to  any  grass  growing  with 
it.  It  dries  and  cures  on  the  ground  so  as  to  retain  its  nutritive 
properties  in  the  winter.  Xo  attempt  is  made  by  stockmen  to  t'avd  cat- 
tle in  the  winter;  they  are  expected  to  "rustle  around,"  as  the  phrase 
is,  and  find  their  living;  and  in  ordinary  winters,  as  the  fall  of  snow  is 
light,  they  are  enabled  to  subsist  and  make  a  pretty  good  appearance 
in  the  spring;  but  in  severe  winters  there  are  losses  of  cattle,  some- 
times very  heavy  ones,  from  want  of  feed.     (Plate  62.) 

Bouteloua  racemosa  (Mesquite  Grass;  Tall  Grama  Gra 

This  species  ranges  from  Mexico  to  British  America  and  east  of  the 
Mississippi  Eiver,  in  Wisconsin  and  Illinois.  It  is  easily  distinguished 
from  the  others  by  its  taller  growth  and  by  the  long,  slender  raceme  of 
twenty  to  fifty  or  more  slender  spikes.  These  are  usually  about  half 
an  inch  long  and  reflexed.  There  are  from  six  to  ten  spikelets  on  each 
spike.  Although  eaten  by  cattle,  especially  when  made  into  hay.  it  is 
not  so  much  relished  as  some  other  kinds. 

There  are  about  a  dozen  other  species  of  this  genus  occurring  more 
or  less  extensively  in  the  Southwest,  chiefly  in  New  Mexico  and  Arizona, 


58 

all  of  which  are  nutritious  grasses,  bat  seldom  occurring  in  sufficient 

quantity  to  be  particularly  important.     (Plate  63.) 

ELEUSINE. 

Spikes  two  to  five  or  more,  finger-like,  at  the  summit  of  the  col  id,  sometimes  a  few 
scattering  ones  lower  down;  spikelets  sessile  ami  crowded  along  one  side  of  the 
rhaehis;  two  to  six  (orniore)-flowered,  the  uppermost  flowers  imperfect  or  rudimentary; 
outer  glumes  membranaceous,  shorter  than  the  spikelet;  flowering  glumes  usually 
obtnse  ;  palet  folded,  two-keeled. 

Eleusine  Indica  (Yard  Grass;  Crow-foot;  Crab  Grass;  Wire  Gross). 

The  culms  are  from  1  to  3  feet  high,  usually  coarse  and  thick,  and  very  >eafy,  es- 
pecially below.  The  leaves  are  long  and  rather  wide.  At  the  top  of  the  culm  there  are 
two  to  five  or  more  thickish  densely-flowered  spikes  proceeding  from  a  common  point, 
with  sometimes  one  or  two  scattering  ones  lower  down  on  the  clnm.  The  spikelets 
are  sessile  and  crowded  along  one  side  of  the  axin,  each  being  from  two  to  six-flow- 
ered, the  upper  flower  imperfect  or  rudimentary  ;  the  outer  glumes  are  membranaceous, 
shorter  than  the  flowers,  the  flowering  glumes  usually  obtuse;  the  palet  folded  and 
two-keeled. 

An  annual  grass  belonging  to  tropical  countries,  but  now  naturalized 
in  most  temperate  climates.  In  the  Southern  States  it  is  found  in 
every  door-yard  and  in  all  waste  places. 

Professor  Phares,  of  Mississippi,,  says  : 

The  clumps  have  many  long  leaves  and  stems  rising  1  or  2  feet  high,  and  many 
long,  strong,  deeply-penetrating,  fibrous  roots.  It  grows  readily  in  door-yards,  barn- 
yards, and  rich,  cultivated  grounds,  and  produces  an  immense-quantity  of  seeds.  It  is 
a  very  nutritious  grass,  and  good  for  grazing,  soiling,  and  hay.  The  succulent  lower 
part  of  the  stems,  covered  with  the  sheaths  of  the  leaves,  render  it  difficult  to  cure 
well,  for  which  several  days  are  required.  It  may  be  cut  two  or  three  times,  and 
yields  a  large  quantity  of  hay. 

(Plate  64.) 

Eleusine  iEgyptiaca  (Crow-foot.) 

Two  species  of  grass  in  the  Southern  States  have  received  the  name 
of  crow-foot,  viz :  Eleusine  Indica  and  Eleusine  JEgyptiaea,  or,  as  it  is 
sometimes  called,  Dactyloctenium  JEgyptiacum.  Dr.  IT.  W.  Eavenel,  of 
Aiken,  S.  C,  states  that  in  the  lower  and  middle  portions  of  that  State 
the  name  of  goose  grass  is  generally  applied  to  the  former,  while  the 
latter  is  universally  called  crow  foot.  E.  Indira,  he  says,  is  confined 
to  rich  waste  places  and  old  yards  and  gardens,  and  is  rarely  or  never 
seen  in  ordinary  cultivated  fields,  and  is  never  used  for  hay,  because 
it  is  found  only  in  tufts  and  sparsely,  whilst  E.  JEgyptiaca,  is  as  abun- 
dant as  crab  grass  (Panieum  sanguinale)  in  all  cultivated  fields,  and  it 
is  commonly  used  for  hay. 

This  is  an  important  distinction,  which  ought  to  be  generally  known 
and  noticed  in  our  popular  account  of  these  grasses.     (Plate  05.) 


BUCHLOE. 
Buchloe  dactyloides  (Buffalo  Grass). 

This  grass  is  extensively  spread  over  all  the  region  known  as  the 
Great  Plains.  It  is  very  low,  the  bulk  of  leaves  seldom  rising  more  than 
3  or  4  inches  above  the  ground,  growingin  extensive  tufts,  or  patches, 

and  spreading  largely  by  means  of  stolons  or  off-shoots  similar  to  those 
of  the  Bermuda  grass,  these  stolons  being  sometimes  2  feet  long,  and 
with  joints  every  3  or  4  inches,  frequently  rooting  and  sending  up 
flowering  culms  from  the  joints.  The  leaves  of  the  radical  tufts  are  :; 
to  5  inches  long,  one  or  one-half  line  wide,  smooth  or  edged  with  a  few- 
scattering  hairs.  The  flowering  culms  are  chiefly  dioecious,  but  some- 
times both  male  and  female  flowers  are  found  on  the  same  plant,  but 
in  separate  parts.  Next  to  the  grama  grass  it  is,  perhaps,  the  most 
valuable  plant  in  the  support  of  the  cattle  of  the  plains.     (Plate  00.) 

TRIODIA. 

Spikelets  several  to  many-flowered  in  a  strict  spike-like  or  an  open,  spreading  pan- 
icle,  some  of  the  upper  flowers  male  or  imperfect;  outer  glumes  keeled,  acute  or 
acutish,  awnless;  flowering  glumes  imbricated,  rounded  on  the  back,  at  least  below, 
hairy  or  smooth,  three-nerved,  either  mucronate,  three-toothed,  or  tbree-lobed  at  the 
apex,  or  obscurely  erose,  often  hardened,  and  nerveless  in  fruit;  palet  broad,  promi- 
nently two-keeled. 
Triodia  seslerioides  (Tall  Redtop). 

This  grass  grows  from  3  to  5  feet  high.  The  culms  are  very  smooth;  the  leaves 
are  long  and  flat,  the  low'er  sheaths  hairy  or  smoothish. 

The  panicle  is  large  and  loose,  at  first  erect,  but  finally  spreading  widely.  The 
branches  are  single  or  in  twos  or  threes  below,  and  frequently  (5  inches  long,  divided 
and  flower-bearing  above  the  middle.  The  spikelets  are  on  short  pedicels,  '•>  to  4 
lines  long  and  five  or  six-flowered.  The  outer  glumes  are  shorter  than  the  flowers, 
unequal  and  pointed;  the  flowering  glumes  are  hairy  towards  the  base,  having 
three  strong  nerves,  which  are  extended  into  short  teeth  at  the  summit.  It  is  a  large 
and  showy  grass  when  fully  matured,  the  panicles  being  large,  spreading,  and  of  a 
purplish  color. 

It  grows  in  sandy  fields,  and  on  dry,  sterile  banks,  from  New  York 
to  South  Carolina  and  westward.  It  is  eaten  by  cattle  when  young, 
but  the  mature  culms  are  rather  harsh  and  wiry  and  not  relished  by 
them.     It  is,  however,  cut  for  hay  where  it  naturally  abounds. 

The  genus  Triodia  has  its  chief  distribution  in  Texas  and  the  adja- 
cent region,  where  there  are  several  species  which  seem  to  have  some 
importance  in  the  grass  supply  of  these  arid  districts.  Among  these 
are  Triodia  trinerviglumis.  Triodia  stricta,  Triodia  Texana,  and  Triodia 
acuminata. 

These  deserve  further  investigation.     (Plate  07.) 

ARTJNDO. 

Tall  grasses  with  an  ample  panicle,  spikelets  two  to  many-flowered,  the  dowers 
rather  distant,  silky-hairy  at  the  base,  and  with  a  conspicuous  silky-bearded  rhachis, 
all  perfect ;  outer  glumes  narrow,  unequal,  glabrous,  lanceolate,  keeled,  acute;  flow- 
ering glumes  membranaceous,  slender,  awl-pointed;  palets  much  shorter  than  the 
glumes,  two-keeled,  pubescent  on  the  keels. 


60 

Arundo  Donax  (Giant  Reed  Grass). 

This  grass  is  often  cultivated  for  its  very  ornamental  plumes.  It  is 
ii  native.of  Southern  Europe,  but  is  well  established  on  the  borders  of 
the  llio  Grande  River,  where  it  is  probably  indigenous,  and  has  been 
recommended  for  cultivation. 

PHRAGMITES. 

Only  differing  from  Arundo  in  the  lowest  flower  of  the  spikelets  being 
staminate  only  and  glabrous. 

Phragmites  communis  (Reed  Grass). 

A  tall,  coarse,  perennial  grass,  growing  on  the  borders  of  ponds  and 
streams,  almost  rivaling  sorghum  in  luxuriance.  It  attains  a  height  of 
0  to  10  feet ;  the  culms  sometimes  an  inch  in  diameter,  and  leaves 
an  inch  or  two  in  width.  The  panicle  is  from  9  to  15  inches  long, 
loose,  but  not  much  spreading,  of  an  oblong  or  lanceolate  form, 
and  slightly  nodding.  The  branches  are  very  numerous,,  irregularly 
whorled,  4  to  8  inches  long,  much  subdivided,  and  profusely  flowering. 
The  largest  panicles  form  very  ornamental  plumes,  almost  equal  to 
those  of  Arundo  Donax,  so  much  cultivated  for  ornamental  purposes. 
It  sometimes  attains  the  height  of  15  feet.  It  is  resorted  to  by  cattle 
only  when  finer  and  more  nutritious  grasses  fail,     (Plate  68.) 

KCELERXA. 

Koeleria  cristata. 

This  grass  has  a  very  wide  diffusion,  both  in  this  country  and  in 
Europe  and  Asia.  It  favors  dry  hills  or  sandy  prairies,  and  on  the 
Great  Plains  is  one  of  the  commonest  species.  It  occurs  throughout 
California  and  extends  into  Oregon.  It  varies  much  in  appearance, 
according  to  the  location  in  which  it  grows,  these  varieties  being  so 
striking  that  they  have  been  considered  different  species ;  and  perhaps 
two  species  ought  to  be  admitted.  It  is  perennial,  with  erect  culms 
usually  from  1  to  2  feet  high,  and  a  spike-like  panicle  varying  from 
3  to  G  inches  in  length,  and  more  or  less  interrupted  or  lobed  at 
the  lower  part.  When  grown  in  very  arid  places  the  culms  may  be 
only  a  foot  high,  the  radical  leaves  short,  and  the  panicle  only  2 
inches  long.  When  grown  in  more  favored  situations  the  radical  leaves 
are  sometimes  18  inches  long,  the  stem  3  feet,  and  the  panicle  6  inches. 
The  branches  of  the  panicle  are,  in  short,  nearly  sessile  clusters,  crowded 
above,  looser  and  interrupted  below.  The  spikelets  are  from  two  to 
four-flowered.  On  the  prairies  west  of  the  Mississippi  it  is  ,one  of  the 
commonest  and  most  useful  of  the  grasses.  In  Montana  it  is  sometimes 
called  June  grass.  It  is  an  early  grass,  ripening  about  the  first  of 
July. '  (Plate  C9.) 


61 


ERAGROSTIS. 

Spikelets  Beveral;  usually  many-flowered,  pedicellate  <>r  Bessile,  in  a  loose  and 
spreading,  or  narrow  and  clustered  panicle :  the  rhachis  of  the  Bpikelets  usual! 
brons  and  articulate  nndei  the  flowering  glomes,  but  often  tardily  bo,  and  sometimes 
inarticulate.  Outer  empty  glumes  unequal,  and  rather  shorter  than  the  flow* 
ones,  keeled,  one-nerved;  flowering  glumes  obtuse  or  acute,  onawned,  three-nerved, 
the  keel  prominent,  the  lateral  nerves  sometimes  very  faint  :  palet  shorter  than  the 
glume,  with  two  prominent  nerves  or  keels,  often  persisting  alter  the  glume  and 
grain  have  fallen  away. 

Eragrostis  major. 

This  is  a  foreign  grass  which  has  become  extensively  naturalized, 

not  only  in  the  older  States,  bat  in  many  places  in  the  Western  and 
Southwestern  Territories.  It  is  found  in  waste  and  cultivated  grounds, 
and  on  roadsides,  growing  in  thick  tufts,  which  spread  out  over  the 
grouud  by  means  of  the  geniculate  and  decumbent  culms.  The  calms 
are  from  1  to  2  feet  long,  the  lower  joints  bent  and  giving  rise  to 
long  branches.  The  sheaths  are  shorter  than  the  internodes,  the 
leaves  from  3  to  G  inches  long.  The  panicle  is  frequently  4  or  5  inches 
long,  oblong  or  pyramidal,  somewhat  open,  but  full-flowered;  the 
branches  single  or  iu  pairs,  branched  and  flowering  nearly  to  its  base. 
This  grass  is  said  to  have  a  disagreeable  odor  when  fresh.  It  produces 
an  abundance  of  foliage,  and  is  apparently  an  annual,  reaching  impu- 
rity late  iu  the  season.  We  are  not  aware  that  its  agricultural  value 
has  been  tested.     (Plate  70.) 

Eragrostis  Abyssinica. 

Eragrostis  Abyssinica  is  a  species  which  has  been  introduced  from 
Abyssinia,  and  cultivated  in  Florida  and  some  of  the  Southern  ami 
Southwestern  States,  and  is  said  to  be  remarkably  productive  and  val- 
uable for  hay.     It  is  an  annual  grass,  growing  to  the  height  of  2  to  3  feet. 

The  native  Abyssinian  name  of  this  grass  is  "  teff7n  and  from  the 
seeds  the  Abyssinians  make  their  bread.  It  may  be  cultivated  with 
ease  at  a  height  of  G,000  or  7,000  feet  above  the  sea-level,  where  maize 
can  hardly  thrive.  It  comes  to  maturity  in  four  months,  yields  forty 
times  its  volume  of  seed,  and,  in  the  best  variety,  is  said  to  make  a 
white,  delicious  bread.  The  traveler  Biuce  mentions  teff  with  ap- 
proval, aud  there  is  some  account  of  it  in  other  books.  The  Royal 
Gardens  of  Kew  obtained  a  quantity  of  seed,  of  which  they  sent  a  por- 
tion to  the  IT.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  and  by  the  Department 
it  has  been  distributed  to  the  agricultural  stations  for  trial.  There 
are  many  other  species,  but  none  of  much  agricultural  importance. 

DISTICHLIS. 

Distichlis  maritima  (Salt  Grass:  Akaline  Gi 
It  has  strong,  creeping  root  stocka  covered  with  imbricated  leaf-sheaths,  Bending 

up  culms  from  G  to  IS  inches  high,  which  arc  clothed  nearly  to  the  top  with  the 
numerous,  sometimes  crowded,  two-ranked  Leaves.     The  leaves  are  generally  rigid 


62 

.and  involute,  sharp-pointed,  varying  greatly  in  length  on  different  specimens.  The 
plants  are  dicecious,  some  being  entirely  male  and  some  female.  The  panicle  is 
generally  short  and  spike  like,  sometimes,  especially  in  the  males,  rather  loose,  with 
longer,  erect  branches,  and  sometimes  reduced  to  a  few  spikelets.  The  spikelets  are 
from  4  to  G  inches  long  and  live  to  ten-flowered,  the  flowers  being  usually  much 
compressed.  The  outer  glumes  are  smooth,  narrow,  and  keeled  ;  the  flowering  ones 
are  broader,  keeled,  acute,  rather  rigid,  and  faintly  many-nerved.  The  palets  have 
an  infolded  margin,  the  keels  prominent  or  narrowly  winged.  The  pistillate  spike- 
lets  are  more  condensed  and  more  rigid  than  the  staminate. 

This  is  described  in  most  botanical  works  as  Bryzopyrum  spicatum,  but 
recently  the  name  given  by  Kafiuesque  lias  been  accepted  and  restored 
to  it  by  Mr.  Benthain.  It  is  a  perennial  grass,  growing  in  marshes 
near  the  sea-coast  on  both  sides  of  the  continent  and  also  abundantly 
in  alkaline  soil  throughout  the  arid  districts  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

Although  this  can  not  be  considered  a  first-rate  grass  for  agricultural 
purposes,  it  is  freely  cut  with  other  marsh  grasses,  and  on  the  alkaline 
plains  of  the  Rockv  Mountains  it  affords  an  inferior  pasturage.  (Plate 
71.) 

DACTYLIS. 

Dactylis  glomierata  (Orchard  Grass). 

The  culm  and  leaves  roughish,  the  leaves  broadly  linear,  light  green,  and  five  to 
six  on  the  culm.  The  panicle  is  generally  but  2  or  3  inches  long,  the  upper 
part  dense  from  the  shortness  of  the  branches ;  the  lower  branches  are  longer  and 
spreading,  but  with  the  spikelets  glomerated  or  closely  tufted.  The  spikelets  are 
usually  three  to  four-flowered,  one-sided,  and  on  short,  rough  pedicels.  The  glumes 
arepoiuted  and  somewhat  unequal,  the  upper  one  being  smaller  and  thinner  than  the 
lower.  The  flowering  glumes  are  ovate-lanceolate,  roughish,  and  ending  in  a  sharp 
point  or  short  awn,  and  are  rather  longer  than  the  outer  glumes. 

This  is  one  of  the  most  popular  meadow  grasses  of  Europe,  and  is 
well  known  to  most  farmers  in  the  Northern  and  Eastern  States.  It  is  a 
perennial  of  strong,  rank  growth,  about  3  feet  high. 

Professor  Phares,  of  Mississippi,  says: 

Of  all  grasses  this  is  one  of  the  most  widely  diffused,  growing  in  Africa,  Asia,  every 
country  of  Europe,  and  all  our  States. 

It  is  more  highly  esteemed  and  commended  than  any  other  grass,  by  a  large  num- 
ber of  farmers  in  most  countries,  a  most  decided  proof  of  its  great  value  and  wonder- 
ful adaption  to  many  soils,  climates,  and  treatments.  Yet,  strange  to  say,  though 
growing  in  England  for  many  centuries,  it  Avas  not  appreciated  in  that  country  till 
carried  there  from  Virginia  in  1764.  But,  as  in  the  case  of  Timothy  grass,  soon  after 
its  introduction  from  America,  it  came  into  high  favor  among  farmers,  and  still  re- 
tains its  hold  on  their  estimation  as  a  grazing  and  hay  crop.  It  will  grow  well  on 
any  soil  containing  sufficient  clay  and  not  holding  too  much  water.  If  the  land  be 
too  tenacious,  drainage  will  remedy  the  soil;  if  worn  out,  a  top  dressing  of  stable 
manure  will  give  it  a  good  send-off,  and  it  will  furnish  several  mowings'the  first  year. 
It  grows  well  between  29  degrees  and  48  degrees  latitude.  It  may  be  mowed  from 
two  to  four  times  a  year,  according  to  latitude,  season,  and  treatment,  yielding  from 
1  to  3  tons  of  excellent  hay  per  acre  on  poor  to  medium  laud.  It  is  easily  cured 
and  handled.  It  is  readily  seeded  and  catches  with  certainty.  It  grows  well  in  open 
lands  aud  in  forests  of  large  trees,  the  underbrush  being  all  cleared  oif.  I  know  but 
one  objection  to  it.    Like  tall  oat  grass  it  is  disposed  to  grow  in  clumps  and  leave 


63 

much  of  the  ground  uncovered.    This  may  be  obviated  by  thick  seeding,  using 

2£  or,  hotter,  3  bushels  of  seed  per  acre.  The  gaps  may  be  prevented  by  sowing 
with  it  a  few  pounds  of  redtop  seed.    But  as  the  latter  multiplies  annually  from 

seeds  dropping,  it  would  in  a  few  years  root  out  the  orchard  grass.  In  common  with 
many  others  I  prefer  red  clover  witli  orchard  grass.  It  tills  the  gaps  and  matures  at 
the  same  time  with  the  orchard  grass;  the  mixture  makes  good  pasture  and  good  hay; 
hut  if  mewed  more  than  twice  a  year,  or  grazed  too  soon  alter  the  second  mowing, 
the  clover  will  rapidly  fail.  One  peck  of  red  clover  seed  and  (i  pecks  of  orchard 
grass  seed  is  good  proportion  per  acre. 

After  being  cut  it  has  been  found  to  grow  4  inches  in  less  than  three  days.  Sheep 
leave  all  other  grasses  if  they  can  hud  this,  and  acre  for  acre  it  will  .sustain  twice  as 
many  sheep  or  other  stock  as  Timothy.  Cut  at  the  proper  age  it  makes  a  much  bet- 
ter hay  than  Timothy,  and  is  greatly  preferred  by  animals,  being  easier  to  masticate, 
digest,  and  assimilate;  in  fact  more  like  green  grass  in  flavor,  tenderness,  and  solu- 
bility. 

Mr.  J.  S.  Gould,  of  Xew  York,  says : 

The  testimony  that  has  been  collected  from  all  parts  of  the  world  for  two  centuries 
past  establishes  the  place  of  this  species  among  the  very  best  of  our  forage  gra 
and  wo  have  not  a  shadow  of  a  doubt  that  the  interests  of  our  graziers  and  dairymen 
would  be  greatly  promoted  b}7  its  more  extended  cultivation.  It  is  always  found  in 
the  rich  old  pastures  of  England,  where  an  acre  of  land  can  be  relied  on  to  fatten  a 
bullock  and  four  sheep.  It  is  admirably  adapted  for  growing  in  the  shade,  no  grass 
being  equal  to  it  in  this  respect,  except  the  rough-stalked  meadow  grass  (Poa  tri- 
vialis).  It  receives  the  name  of  orchard  grass  from  this  circumstance.  We  have 
seen  it  growing  in  great  luxuriance  in  dense  old  New  England  orchards,  where  no 
other  grass  exeept  Poa  trivialis  would  grow  at  all.  It  affords  a  good  bite  earlier  in 
the  spring  than  any  other  grass  except  the  meadow  foxtail  (Alopccurus  pratensw). 
It  affords  a  very  great  amount  of  aftermath,  being  exceeded  in  this  respect  by  no 
other  grass  except  Kentucky  blue  grass  (Poa  pratemis),  and  it  continues  to  send  out 
root-leaves  until  very  late  in  the  autumn.  When  sown  with  other  grasses  its  tend- 
ency to  form  tussocks  is  very  much  diminished  ;  indeed  it  is  always  unprofitable  to 
sow  it  alone  in  meadows  or  pastures,  as  it  stands  too  thin  upon  the  ground  to  make  a 
profitable  use  of  the  land,  and  the  tilling  up  of  the  interspaces  with  other  varieties 
greatly  improves  the  quality  of  the  orchard  grass  by  restraining  its  rankness  and 
making  it  more  delicate. 

From  Column's  Rural  World  : 

Orchard  grass  makes  good  winter  pasturage,  equally  as  good  as  blue  grass,  and  far 
better  pasturage  in  seasons  of  drought  than  blue  grass,  as  it  is  a  deeper  and  larger- 
rooted  plant  and  resists  drought  better.  When  once  established  it  can  be  fed  as 
closely  as  any  other  grass,  and  is  no  harder  on  land  than  any  other,  indeed,  laud 
pastured  in  orchard  grass  will  continue  to  improve  in  fertility.  If  half  of  each  of 
our  farms  were  well  seeded  to  orchard  grass  it  would  bo  a  great  advantage  to  them. 

From  the  Farmers  Home  Journal: 

This  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  of  all  the  grasses,  and  is  better  adapted  to  the 
South  than  any  other  with  which  we  are  acquainted.  Its  rapidity  of  growth  and 
the  luxuriance  of  its  aftermath,  its  power  of  enduring  drought  and  the  cropping  of 
cattle,  commended  it  highly  to  the  farmer,  especially  as  a  pasture  grass,  and  it  is 
rapidly  growing  fti  favor.  It  starts  earlier  in  the  spring,  and  continues  growing 
later  in  the  fall,  and  starts  agaiu  more  quickly  after  being  cut,  than  any  other  grass, 
thus  furnishing  both  the  earliest  and  latest  grazing.  Orchard  grass  is  less  exhaust- 
ing to  the  soil  than  Timothy.  It  will  endure  considerable  shade.  In  a  porous  sub- 
soil its  fibrous  roots  extend  to  a  great  depth.  It  does  well  ou  auy  soil  of  even  mod- 
erate fertility  which  is  not  too  wet  for  grass,  and  will  grow  and  thrive  where  no  other 


64 

grass  will.  It  does  besl  on  a  sandy  loam  with  a  porous  subsoil,  but  will  grow  on  a 
sand-bank  if  made  rich  enough.  When  sown  alone,  we  would  sow  2  bushels  to 
the  acre.  From  the  nature  of  its  growth  thick  seeding  is  necessary  to  secure  the  best 
results,  and  we  think  the  farmer  will  never  regret  the  extra  first  cost  of  sowing  two 

bushels  per  acre. 

When  sown  thickly  and  properly  protected  from  grazing  it  forms  a  close  and  very 
durable  turf.  Nothing  will  hurt  it  except  plowing.  As  to  time  of  sowing,  it  may  be 
sown  in  August.  September,  October,  February,  March,  or  April,  alone,  or  on  wheat, 
rye,  or  oats.  Hay  made  from  a  mixture  of  this  grass  with  clover  is  very  nutritious, 
second  only  to  best  Timothy  hay  made,  falling  very  little  behind  it,  while  in 
most  lands  in  the  South  the  yield  will  exceed  that  of  Timothy. 

Orchard  grass  is  ready  for  grazing  in  the  spring  ten  or  twelve  days  sooner  than  any 
other  that  affords  a  full  bite.  When  grazed  down  and  the  stock  turned  oft',  it  will  be 
ready  for  regrazing  in  less  than  half  the  time  required  for  Kentucky  blue  grass. 

(Plate  72.) 

POA. 

Spikelets  somewhat  compressed,  usually  two  to  five-flowered,  in  a  narrow  or 
loose  and  spreading  panicle,  the  rhachis  between  the  flowers  glabrous  or  sometimes 
hairy,  the  flowers  generally  perfect,  in  a  few  species  ditecious  :  outer  glumes  com- 
monly shorter  than  the  flowers,  membranaceous,  keeled,  obtuse  or  acute,  one  to  three- 
nerved,  not  awned  :  flowering  glumes  membranaceous,  obtuse  ar  acute,  five  or  rarely 
seven-nerved,  the  intermediate  nerves  frequently  obscure,  often  scarious  at  the  apex 
and  margins,  smooth  or  pubescent,  often  with  a  few  loose  or  webby  hairs  at  the 
base:  palet  about  as  long  as  the  flowering  glumes,  prominently  two-nerved  or  two- 
keeled. 

Poa  arachnifera  (Texas  Blue  Grass). 

This  species  was  first  described  by  Dr.  John  Torrey  in  the  report  of 
Captain  Marcy's  exploration  of  the  Ked  River  of  Louisiana,  as  having 
been  found  on  the  headwaters  of  the  Trinity,  and  named  Poa  arach- 
nifera from  the  profuse  webby  hairs  growing  about  the  flowers,  although 
it  is  found  that  this  character  is  very  variable,  probably  depending 
somewhat  on  the  amount  of  shade  or  exposure  to  which  the  grass  is  sub- 
jected. 

Several  years  ago  Mr.  Hogan,  of  Texas,  sent  specimens  of  the  grass 
to  this  Department,  and  as  it  was  shown  to  be  a  relative  of  the  Ken- 
tucky blue  grass,  Mr.  Hogan  adopted  for  the  common  name  Texas  blue 
grass.     We  give  some  extracts  from  his  letters  relating  to  the  grass  : 

I  find  it  spreading  rapidly  over  the  country,  and  I  claim  for  it  all  and  more  in  Texas 
than  is  awarded  to  the  Poa  pratens'xs.  It  seems  to  be  indigenous  to  all  the  prairie 
country  between  the  Trinity  River  and  the  Brazos  in  our  State.  It  blooms  here  about 
the  last  of  March,  and  ripeus  its  seeds  by  the  15th  of  April.  Stock  of  all  kinds  and 
even  poultry  seem  to  prefer  it  to  wheat,  rye,  or  anything  else  grown  in  winter.  It 
seems  to  have  all  the  characteristics  of  Poa  pratensis,  only  it  is  much  larger,  and 
therefore  affords  more  grazing.  I  have  known  it  to  grow  10  inches  iu,teu  days  dur- 
ing the  winter.  The  coldest  winters  do  not  even  nip  it,  and  although  it  seems  to  die 
down  during  summer,  it  springs  up  as  soon  as  the  first  rains  ftill  in  September, 
and  grows  all  winter.  I  have  known  it  in  cultivation  some  five  years,  and  have  never 
been  able  to  find  a  fault  in  it.  It  will  be  ready  for  pasture  in  three  or  four  weeks 
after  the  first  rains  in  the  latter  part  of  August  or  1st  of  September.  I  have  never 
cut  it  for  hay.  Why  should  a  man  want  hay  when  he  can  have  green  grass  to  feed 
his  stock  on  ? 


-     «    65 

Mr.  James  E.  Webb,  of  Greensboro ugb,  Bale  County,  Ala.,  writing 
to  the  Department  December  26,  1888,  says: 

Recent  experiments  show  that  the  Texas  blue  grass  (Poa  arachnifera)  flourishes 
and  grows  hero  in  west  Alabama  as  finely  as  could  be  wished,  and  is  like!)  ere  long 
to  furnish  us  what  we  so  much  need,  a  line  winter  grass.     With  Texas  blue 
Melilotus  and  Bermuda  grass,  Alabama  is  a  line  stock  country. 

Mr.  S.  C.  Tally,  of  Ellis  County,  Texas,  has  sent  specimens  of  this 
grass.  He  says  it  is  abundant  there,  bears  heavy  pasturing,  and  makes 
a  beautiful  yard  or  lawn  grass. 

Similar  favorable  accounts  have  been  received  from  others.  It  is 
likely  to  prove  one  of  the  most  valuable  grasses  for  the  South  and 
Southwest.  By  means  of  its  strong  stolons  or  offshoots  it  multiplies 
rapidly  and  makes  a  dense,  permanent  sod.  It  produces  an  abundance 
of  radical  leaves  which  often  become  2  feet  in  length,  and  those  of  the 
culms  are  smooth  and  of  good  width,  about  4  to  8  inches  long 
and  2  lines  wide.  The  culms  are  2  to  3  feet  high,  each  with  two  or 
three  leaves,  with  long  sheaths  and  blade,  the  upper  leaf  sometimes 
reaching  nearly  to  the  top  of  the  panicle.  The  ligule  is  round  and 
short,  or  lacerated  when  old.  The  panicle  is  from  3  to  8  inches  in  length, 
rather  narrow,  and  with  short,  erect  branches  of  equal  length,  in  clus- 
ters of  from  three  to  five,  the  longest  seldom  2  inches,  most  of  them 
short,  some  nearly  sessile  and  profusely  flowering  to  the  base.  The 
spikelets  usually  contain  about  five  flowers. 

In  many  cases  there  is  a  remarkable  development  of  long,  silky  hairs 
at  the  base  of  each  flower,  but  sometimes  these  are  quite  absent.  (Plate 
73.) 

Poa  compressa  (English  Blue  Grass;  Wire  Grass). 

This  species  has  sometimes  been  confounded  with  the  Kentucky  blue 
grass,  from  which  it  differs  in  its  flattened,  decumbent,  wiry  steins,  its 
shorter  leaves  and  shorter,  narrower,  and  more  scanty  panicle.  It  is 
found  iu  many  old  pastures,  on  dry  banks,  and  in  open  woods.  The 
culms  are  hard  and  much  flattened,  1  foot  to  18  inches  long,  more  or 
less  decumbent,  and  frequently  bent  at  the  lower  joints.  The  leaves 
are  scanty,  smooth,  short,  and  of  a  dark,  bluish-green  color.  The  pan- 
icle is  short  and  contracted,  1  to  3  inches  long.  Very  contradictory 
accounts  have  been  given  as  to  its  agricultural  value,  some  denouncing 
it  as  worthless  and  others  entertaining  a  good  opinion  of  it.  It  thrives 
well  on  clay  or  hard,  trodden,  and  poor  soils. 

Hon.  J.  S.  Gould  says,  respecting  it: 

It  is  certain  that  cows  that  feed  upon  it  both  in  pasture  and  in  bay  give  more  milk 
and  keep  in  better  condition  thau  when  fed  on  any  other  grass.  Horses  fed  on  this 
hay  will  do  as  well  as  when  fed  on  Timothy  bay  and" oats  combined. 

These  discrepant  opinions  may  be  due  in  part  to  having  mistaken 
the  Poa  pratensis  for  this  grass.  It  is  probably  a  nutritious  grass,  but 
from  its  spare  yield  can  hardly  obtaiu  much  favor  for  a  hay  crop. 
(Plate  74.) 

3591  GR 5 


66    ' 

Poa  pratensis  (June  Grass  ;  Kentucky  Blue  Grass ;  Spear  Grass). 

A  perennial  grass,  growing  usually  H  to  2  feet  high,  with  an  abundance  of  long, 
soft,  radical  leaves,  and  sending  off  numerous  running  shoots  from  the  base.  The 
panicle  is  pyramidal  or  obloug  in  outline,  from  2  to  4  inches  long,  the  branches 
mostly  in  lives,  at  least  below,  1  to  2  inches  long,  open  and  spreading,  the  longer 
ones  flowering  above  the  middle.  The  spikelets  are  about  2  lines  long,  ovate, 
closely  three  to  five-flowered,  mostly  on  very  short  pedicels.  The  outer  glomes  are 
acute;  the  flowering  ones  acute  or  acutish,  five-nerved,  the  lateral  nerves  prominent, 
the  lower  part  of  the  lateral  nerves  and  of  the  keel  more  or  less  hairy,  and  the  base 
clothed  with  webby  hairs. 

There  are  several  well-marked  varieties,  which  are  much  modified 
and  improved  by  cultivation.  It  is  indigenous  in  the  mountainous  re- 
gions of  this  country  as  well  as  of  Europe,  and  has  been  introduced  into 
cultivation  in  many  countries. 

Its  principal  use  is  as  a  pasture  grass  and  for  lawns.  For  hay-mak- 
ing there  are  many  other  grasses  which  furnish  a  heavier  and  more 
profitable  crop.  It  is  a  grass  which  seems  to  require  special  conditions 
to  bring  out  its  best  qualities,  and  hence  it  is  held  in  very  light  or  very- 
great  estimation  in  different  regions.  In  England  it  is  used  but  little, 
and  never  sown  alone,  but  is  generally  recommended  as  a  constituent 
of  permanent  pastures  because  of  the  earliness  of  its  growth.  In  New 
Zealand,  where  it  has  been  introduced,  it  is  considered  a  curse  rather 
than  a  blessing,  because  it  overruns  alike  pastures  and  cultivated 
ground,  and  is  as  difficult  of  extermination  as  quack  grass  (Agropyrum 
repens).  It  varies  much  in  size  and  appearance  according  to  the  soil  in 
which  it  grows. 

In  all  the  Middle  and  Eastern  States  it  forms  the  principal  constitu- 
ent of  pastures,  but  in  some  parts  it  is  not  highly  esteemed.  From  the 
unexampled  success  its  cultivation  has  met  with  in  Kentucky  it  has 
acquired  the  name  of  Kentucky  blue  grass. 

The  following  very  valuable  notes  on  this  grass  are  from  the  pen  of 
Major  Alvord,  in  Cassell,  Peter  &  Co.'s  work  on  Dairy  Farming : 

The  Poa  pratensis  of  the  botanist  has  cbtained  a  very  wide  reputation  as  the  Ken- 
tucky blue  grass,  and  led  many  into  the  mistaken  belief  that  it  was  a  peculiarly 
American  grass,  confined  to  the  famous  pastures  of  the  region  whence  it  derived  its 
name.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  one  of  the  most  common  grasses  in  nearly  all  parts 
of  the  country,  being  variably  known  as  June  grass,  green  meadow  grass,  com- 
mon spear  grass,  and  Rhode  Island  bent  grass,  and  it  is  the  well-known  smooth- 
stalked  meadow  grass,  or  greensward,  of  England.  There  is  no  grass  that  accommo- 
dates itself  to  any  given  locality  with  greater  facility,  whether  it  be  the  Missisippi 
Valley,  New  England,  Canada,  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean,  or  the  north  of  Rus- 
sia. It  is  found  thriving  upon  gravelly  soils,  alluvial  bottoms,  and  stiff  clay  lands 
in  the  permanent  pastures  of  Missouri,  and  along  the  roadsides  of  Minnesota.  Soil 
and  climate  cause  varieties  in  fts  size  and  appearance,  and  this  protean  habit  ac- 
counts for  the  various  names  by  which  it  is  known. 

It  probably  attains  its  highest  luxuriance  and  perfection  as  a  pasture  grass  in  the 
far-famed  blue  grass  district  of  Kentucky.  The  central  part  of  Kentucky,  an  area  of 
15,000  square  miles  or  more,  over  limestone  foundation,  seems  to  be  the  richest  blue 
grass  country.    There  its  seed-stalks  are  2  to  3 feet  high,  with  several  long,  parallel- 


G7 

sided  leaves  to  each  plant,  and  radical  leaves  often  numbering  thirty  to  a  stalk.  The 
root  is  perennial  and  throws  off  numerous  and  Long-creeping  root-stocks,  enabling  it 

to  form  a  dense  matted  tuft.  The  chief  reputation  of  this  grass  is  as  a  pasture  grass ; 
the  sod  is  easily  obtained  and  very  enduring,  there  being  no  such  thing  known  as 

its  running  out  on  good  laud.  Pastures  sixty  years  unbroken  afford  their  owners  an 
annual  profit  of  at  least  flO  an  acre.  It  starts  very  early  in  the  spring, and  grows 
rapidly  after  being  grazed  oil'.  It  will  furnish  more  late  feed  than  most  grasses,  and 
no  amount  of  pasturing    is  sufficient  to   utterly   destroy  it.     It  endure.-,  the  frosts  ot 

winter  better  than  any  other  grass  on  the  continent,  and  therefore  pushes  its  way 
northward  into  the  Arctic  Circle.  Severe  droughts  injure  blue  grass,  yet  it  grows  as 
far  south  as  the  hilly  parts  of  Georgia  and  Alabama,  and  in  Arkansas,  not,  however, 
as  vigorously  as  farther  north.  Although  in  a  drought  it  often  becomes  dry  enough 
to  burn,  it,  is  greedily  eaten  by  stock  ;  it  dries  full  of  nourishing  properties,  and  cattle 
will  fatten  upon  it  unless  it  has  been  drenched  with  rains.  Blue  grass  can  not  lie  re- 
commended for  the  meadow,  as  it  is  hard  to  cut  and  difficult  to  cure;  the  foliage  is 
too  short  and  too  light  after  being  dried. 

It  is  an  excellent  grass  for  lawns,  as  it  makes  a  dense,  uniform  mat  of  verdure, 
and  sends  up  but  one  flowering  stem  u  year;  for  this  purpose  it  is  thickly  seeded  and 
and  kept  closely  mown. 

An  experienced  Kentucky  agriculturist  says  the  seasou  of  sowing 
may  be  any  time  from  August  to  April. 

The  seed  should  be  sown  from  1|  to  2|  bushels  per  acre,  and  lightly  brushed  in  on 
a  well-prepared  surface.  The  seed  may  be  sown  on  a  grain  held  without  any  prepara- 
tion. Some  prefer  to  sow  on  small  grain  in  February  or  March,  on  the  snow.  One 
advantage  in  this  is  the  evenness  with  which  the  seed  may  be  sown.  If  the  sowing 
is  done  later  it  would  be  advisable  to  harrow  the  held  before  suwing  it,  and  roll  it 
afterward.  A  very  loose  or  open  surface  is  fatal  to  blue  grass  in  the  young  state  if 
the  weather  be  the  least  dry.  No  stock  should  be  permitted  on  the  grass  the  first 
year.  Blue  grass  is  sometimes  destroyed  in  sandy  soils  by  cattle,  which  in  grazing 
pull  it  up.     In  stiff  clay  this  is  not  so  likely  to  happen. 

(Plate  75.) 

Poa  serotina  (Fowl  Meadow  Grass).  • 

Culms  erect,  2  or  3  feet  high,  without  running  rootstocks.  The  leaves  are  nar- 
rowly linear,  3  to  6  inches  long,  and  2  to  3  lines  wide,  the  sheaths  long,  smooth,  and 
striate,  the  ligules  long.  The  panicle  varies  with  the  size  of  the  plant,  from  5  to  10 
or  12  inches  long  and  1  to  3  inches  wide  and  lax;  the  branches  mostly  in  fives  or 
more  numerous,  nearly  erect,  from  1  to  4  inches  long,  the  longer  ones  subdivided  and 
tlowering  above  the  middle.  There  are  some  mountain  forms  or  varieties  in  which 
the  culms  are  1  foot  or  less  in  height  and  the  panicle  greatly  reduced.  The  spike- 
lets  are  1  to  2  lines  long,  two  to  five-flowered,  on  short  pedicels.  The  outer  glumes 
are  about  1  line  long  and  sharp-pointed.  The  flowering  glume  is  rather  obtuse,  the 
lateral  nerves  not  prominent,  slightly  pubescent  on  the  margins  below,  and  somewhat 
webby  at  the  base. 

This  species  is  most  common  in  the  Northern  States,  particularly  in 
Xew  England,  New  York,  and  westward  to  Wisconsin,  and  also  in  re- 
duced forms  in  all  mouutainous  districts.  « 

Professor  Beal  says : 

The  name  fowl  meadow  grass  is  said  to  have  been  applied  to  this  grass  because 
ducks  and  other  wild  water-birds  were  supposed  to  have  introduced  the  grass  into  a 
poor,  low  meadow  in  Dedham,  Mass. 


68 
Mr.  J.  S.  Gould,  ot  Xew  York,  says : 

I  have  found  it  to  grow  on  almost  every  kind  of  soil,  bnt  it  attains  the  greatest 
perfection  in  a  rich,  moist  one.  It  is  one  of  those  grasses  that  thrive  best  when 
combined  with  others;  it  will  not  make  a  superior  turf  of  itself,  but  it  adds  much 
to  the  value  of  a  .sward  from  its  nutritive  qualities  and  powers  of  early  and  late 
growth.     As  it  perfects  an  abundance  of  seed  it  may  be  easily  propagated. 

Professor  Phares,  ot  Mississippi,  says : 

In  portions  of  the  Western  States  the  grass  has  for  some  years  been  very  highly 
recommended.  In  the  Eastern  States  it  has  been  cultivated  for  one  hundred"  and 
fifty  years  or  longer  and  valued  highly.  Jared  Elliott,  in  1749,  spoke  of  it  as  grow- 
ing tall  and  thick,  making  a  more  soft  and  pliable  hay  than  Timothy  and  better 
adapted  for  pressing  and  shipping  for  use  of  horses  on  shipboard.  He  says  it  makes 
a  thick  abundant  growth  on  land  more  moist  than  is  adapted  to  common  upland 
grasses,  and  may  be  mowed  any  time  from  June  to  October,  as  it  never  becomes  so 
coarse  and  hard,  but  the  stalk  is  sweet  and  tender  and  eaten  without  waste.  It  has 
not  been  sufficiently  cultivated  iu  the  Southern  States,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  to  know 
how  long  a  meadow  set  with  it  may  remain  profitable.  It  is,  however,  worthy  of 
extended  trial. 

Mr.  Charles  L.  Flint  says  : 

It  grows  abundantly  in  almost  every  part  of  Xew  England,  especially  where  it  has 
been  introduced  and  cultivated  in  suitable  ground,  such  as  the  borders  of  rivers  and 
intervals  occasionally  hooded.  It  never  grows  so  coarse  or  hard  but  that  the  stalk 
is  sweet  and  tender,  and  eaten  without  waste.  It  is  easily  made  into  hay,  and  is  a 
nutritive  and  valuable  grass. 

(Plate  70.) 

Poa  tenuifolia. 

This  species,  in  several  varieties,  is  common  in  California,  Oregon, 
Montana,  etc.,  and  is  one  of  the  numerous  bunch  grasses  referred  to  in 
the  accounts  of  the  wild  pasturage  of  that  country.  The  foliage  of  some 
forms  is  scanty,  but  of  others  the  radical  leaves  are  long  and  abundant. 
It  is  stated  that  the  Indians  gather  its  seeds  for  food.     (Plate  77.) 

Poa  trivialis  (Rough-stalked  Meadow  Grass). 

This  species  very  much  resembles  the  Port  pratensis.  It  is  distin- 
guished chiefly  by  its  having  rough  sheaths,  by  its  long,  pointed  ligtiles, 
its  fibrous  roots,  and  the  smooth,  marginal  nerves  of  the  flowering 
glnines,  whereas  in  Poa  })ratcnsis  the  sbeaths  are  smooth,  the  ligules 
obtuse,  the  root  stock  running,  and  the  marginal  nerves  of  the  flowering 
glumes  are  hairy. 

It  has  been  little  cultivated  by  itself  in  this  country,  but  is  sometimes 
found  in  low  meadows  or  on  the  banks  of  shaded  streams.  It  flourishes 
best  in  low  or  wet  ground  and  in  shaded  situations,  and  is  not  so  well 
adapted  to  general  cultivation  as  the  blue  grass. 

Professor  Phares,  of  Mississippi,  says: 

It  is  especially  adapted  to  wood  pastures,  as  it  delights  in  shade,  banks  of  streams, 
and  moist  ground  generally.  It  bears  tramping,  and  is  an  excellent  pasture  grass. 
It  makes  a  good  mixture  with  redtop  and  tall  oat  grass,  and  with  other  pasture 
grasses. 


69 

Poa  trivialis  var.  occidentalis  : 

Tbis  grass,  apparently  a  variety  of  Poa  trivialis,  appears  to  be  indige- 
nous in  Colorado  and  New  Mexico,     li  lias  a  larger,  looser  panicle 

than  the  introduced  plant. 

Poa  audina. 

This  is  a  smooth,  rigid,  perennial  grass,  growing  on  the  great  west- 
ern plains  in  arid  situations.  It  varies  in  height  from  1  to  2  feet,  with 
short,  rigid,  pointed  root-leaves,  and  with  usually  one  or  two  stem- 
leaves,  the  upper  one  with  a  very  short  blade,  or  almost  none.  The 
panicle  is  close  and  rather  dense,  2  to  3  inches  long,  the  spikelets  about 
three  flowered,  the  empty  glumes  rather  large  and  broad,  and  tin' 
flowering  glumes  pubescent  on  the  nerves  below. 

It  is  probable  that  this  species  may  be  introduced  with  advantage 
into  cultivation  in  the  arid  districts  of  the  West.     (Plate  78.) 

GLYCERIA. 

Spikelets  terete  or  flatfish,  several  to  many- flowered,  in  a  narrow  or  diffuse  panicle, 
the  rhachis  smooth,  and  readily  disarticulating  between  the  flowers;  outer  glumes 
shorter  than  the  iiowers,  unequal,  membranaceous,  one  to  three-nerved,  unawned; 
flowering  glume  membranaceous  to  subcoriaceous,  obtuse,  awnless,  more  or  Less  hya- 
line and  denticulate  at  the  apex,  rounded  (never  keeled)  on  the  back,  live  to  nine- 
nerved,  the  nerves  separate,  and  all  vanishing  before  reaching  the  apex:  palet  about 
as  long  as  its  glume,  two-keeled,  entire  or  bifid  at  the  apex. 

The  species  of  this  genus  are  seldom  employed  in  cultivation.  They 
mostly  grow  in  wet  or  swampy  ground,  and  where  found  in  abundance 
can  be  utilized  for  pasturage  or  hay-making. 

Glyceria  arundinacea  (Tall  Meadow  Grass:  Reed  Meadow  Grass). 

This  species  is  widely  diffused  in  the  northern  portions  of  tlie  United 
States  and  Canada,  and  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  from  Mexico  to  .Mon- 
tana. It  lias  a  stout,  erect,  leafy  culm,  3  to  4  feet  high.  The  leaves 
are  a  foot  or  two  long,  a  quarter  to  halt'  an  inch  wide,  flat,  and  some- 
what rough  on  the  edges.  The  panicle  is  large.  9  to  15  inches  long,  and 
much  brauched.     (Plate  79.) 

Glyceria  Canadensis  (Rattlesnake  Grass:  Tall  Quaking  Grass). 

The  culms  stout,  about  3  feet  high,  smooth  and  leafy.  The  leaves  linear-laneco- 
late,6  to  9  inches  long,  or  the  lower  ones  much  Longer,  about  \  lines  broad  and  rather 
rigid.  The  panicle  large  and  effuse.  6  to  9  inches  long,  oblong,  pyramidal,  and  at 
length  drooping.  The  whorls  an  inch  or  more  distant,  the  branches  semi-verticillate, 
mostly  in  threes,  the  largest  :i  to  4  inches  long,  and  subdivided  from  near  the  base. 

A  grass  belonging  to  the  northern  portion  of  the  United  States,  usu- 
ally fouud  in  mountainous  districts,  in  swamps,  and  on  river  borders, 
growing  in  clumps.  It  is  quite  an  ornamental  grass,  resembling  the 
quaking  grass  (Bri.za).  Cattle  are  fond  of  it.  both  green  and  when 
made  into  hay.     It  is  well  adapted  to  low  meadows. 


70 

Glyceria  fluitans  (Floating  Manna  Gi 

Culms  arc  usually  :?  to  1  feet  high,  rather  thick  and  succulent,  and  quite  leafy. 
The  leaves  are  4  to  9  inches  long,  and  :>  to  4  lines  wide.  The  panicle  is  often  a  foot 
long,  very  narrow,  the  short  distant  branches  mostly  in  twos  or  threes,  1  or '2  inches 
long,  erect  and  close,  each  having  usually  two  or  four  spikelets.  The  spikelets  are 
half  an  inch  to  three-quarters  of  an  inch  in  length,  rather  cylindrical  and  nearly  of 
the  same  thickness  throughout,  seven  to  thirteen-flowered. 

This  species  grows  in  shallow  water  on  the  margins  of  lakes,  ponds, 
and  sluggish  streams. 

Hon.  J.  S.  Gould  says : 

This  grass  is  found  growing  in  shallow  water,  overflowed  meadows,  and  wet  woods, 
but  will  bear  cultivation  on  moderately  dry  grounds.  Schreber  says  that  it  is  culti- 
vated in  several  parts  of  Germany,  for  the  sake  of  tbe  seeds,  which  form  the  manna 
crop  of  the  shops,  and  are  considered  a  great  delicacy  in  soups  and  gruels.  When 
ground  into  meal  they  make  bread,  very  little  inferior  to  that  made  from  wheat.  In 
Poland  large  quantities  of  the  seed  are  obtained  for  culinary  purposes.  All  granivor- 
ous  birds  are  exceedingly  fond  of  these  seeds.  Trout,  and  indeed  most  fish,  are  very 
fond  of  them:  wherever  it  grows  over  the  banks  of  streams  the  trout  are  always 
found  in  great  numbers  waiting  to  catch  every  seed  that  falls. 

There  is  a  great  difference  of  opinion  among  agricultural  writers  with  respect  to  the 
fondnesss  of  animals  for  the  leaves  and  culms  of  this  grass.  We  have  often  seen  the 
ends  of  the  leaves  cropped  by  cattle,  but  have  never  seen  the  culms  or  root-leaves 
touched  by  them.  On  the  other  hand,  reliable  writers  have  asserted  that  cattle, 
horses,  and  swine  were  alike  fond  of  it. 

Glyceria  nervata  (Nerved  Meadow  Grass). 

This  is  similar  in  appearance  to  the  tall  meadow  grass,  but  is  smaller, 
with  a  lighter  panicle  and  smaller  flowers.  It  has  also  much  the  same 
general  range.  It  usually  grows  along  the  wet  margins  of  streams  and 
swamps.  It  is  nutritions  and  might  be  advantageously  mixed  with 
other  grasses  in  wet  grounds.  It  is  especially  abundant  in  the  Eocky 
Mountains.  It  is  sometimes  improperly  called  fowl  meadow  grass. 
Xo  attention  has  been  given  to  its  cultivation  in  this  country.  In  the 
Woburn  Agricultural  Experiments  conducted  in  England  by  the  Duke 
of  Bedford,  this  grass  was  under  trial,  and  was  very  highly  esteemed. 
Mr.  Sinclair  states  that  in  February,  1811,  after  the  severe  winter  pre- 
ceding, this  grass  was  perfectly  green  and  succulent,  while  not  one 
species  of  grass,  out  of  nearly  three  hundred  that  grew  around  it  re- 
mained in  a  healthy  state,  but  were  all  inferior  and  more  or  less  injured 
by  the  severity  of  the  weather.  The  aftermath  was  found  to  be  re- 
markably abundant  and  nutritive.  It  was  found  to  be  adapted  to  most 
soils  except  such  as  were  tenacious.  Mr.  Sinclair  also  said  that  further 
experience  in  the  cultivation  of  the  grass  enabled  him  to  stare  that  it 
possesses  very  valuable  properties,  and  that  it  will  be  found  a  valuable 
ingredient  in  permanent  pastures,  where  the  soil  is  not  too  dry,  but  of  a 
medium  quality  as  to  moisture  and  dryness.     (Plate  SO.) 


71 

FESTUCA. 

Spikelets  three  to  many- dowered,  variously  panicled,  pedicellate,  rhachia  of  tbfl 
spikelets  nol  hairy;  outer  glumes  unequal,  shorter  tb.au  the  flowers,  the  lower  one- 
nerved,  and  the  upper  three-nerved,  narrow,  keeled,  acute;  flowering  glume  mem- 
branaceous, cbartaceous,  or  subcoriaceous,  narrow,  ronnded  on  the  back  (no! 
keeled),  more  or  less  distinctly  three  to  rive-nerved,  acute  or  tapering  into  a  Btraight 
awn,  rarely  obtusish;  palet  narrow,  flat,  prominently  two-nerved  or  two-keeled. 

Festuca  elatior  (Meadow  Fescue  Grass;  Tall  Fescue;  Randall  Grass). 

A  perennial  grass,  growing  from  2  to  4  feet  high,  with  flat,  broadisb  leaves  about  a 
foot  long.  The  panicle  is  .somewhat  one-sided,  loose,  and  spreading  when  in  flower, 
contracted  after  flowering,  from  b"  to  10  inches  long,  the  branches  1  to  2  inches  long, 
erect,  mostly  in  pairs  below,  single  above,  subdivided;  the  spikelets  are  lanceolate 
or  linear,  about  half  an  inch  long,  five  to  ten-flowered.  The  flowering  glume  is  lance- 
olate, about  three  lines  long,  firm  in  texture,  five-nerved,  Bcarious  at  the  margin, 
acute,  and  sometimes  with  a  short  but  distinct  awn  at  the  apex. 

This  is  an  introduced  species  now  frequently  met  with  in  meadows; 
it  is  one  of  the  standard  meadow  grasses  of  Europe.  Cattle  are  said  to 
be  very  fond  of  it,  both  green  and  as  hay. 

There  is  a  smaller  form  or  variety,  which  is  the  variety  pratensis  or 
Festuca  pratensis,  Hudson. 

Professor  Killebrew,  of  Tennessee,  writes  of  it  as  follows : 

This  grass  has  received  some  attention  in  different  parts  of  the  State,  and  has  met 
with  a  warm  reception  from  those  testing  it.  It  ripens  its  seeds  long  before  any  other 
grass,  and  consequently  affords  a  very  early  nip  to  cattle.  It  has  been  raised  under 
various  names  in  Virginia,  as  "Randall  grass, "and  in  North  Carolina  as  -'evergreen 
grass." 

Mr.  James  Taylor,  writing  from  North  Carolina,  says : 

The  evergreen  grass  is  very  good  for  pasturing  through  the  fall  and  winter.  It  will 
do  best  when  sown  on  dry  land,  and  is  well  adapted  to  sheep.  It  grows  well  on  rocky 
soil  to  the  height  of  4  or  5  feet  when  ripe,  continuing  green  in  the  spring,  and  af- 
fording fine  herbage  throughout  the  winter.  It  is  best  to  sow  in  the  spring,  with 
oats.  A  peck  of  well-cleaned  seed  is  enough  for  an  acre,  or  a  bushel  in  the  chaff.  It 
ripens  about  the  first  of  June.  If  sown  in  the  spring  this  grass  will  not  go  to  seed 
before  the  next  year,  but  if  sown  in  the  fall  it  will  bring  ^wd  the  next  spring.  From 
the  limited  cultivation  it  has  met  with  in  Tenneesee,  it  seems  to  be  better  adapted  to 
moist,  low  lands,  though  I  have  seen  it  growing  on  some  of  the  high  ridges  of  Easi 
Tennessee,  at  least  1,500  feet  above  the  sea.  There  it  thrives  luxuriantly,  and  makes 
a  very  superior  pasture. 

Professor  Phares,  of  Mississippi,  says : 

It  grows  well  in  nearly  ail  situations,  wet  or  dry,  on  hill  or  bottom  land,  even 
though  subject  to  overflow,  and  matures  an  extraordinary  quantity  of  seed.  The 
seeds  germinate  readily,  and  it  is  easy  to  set  a  piece  of  land  with  this  grass.  Seeded 
alone,  28  pounds,  or  about  2  bushels  of  seed,  should  be  sown  broadcast  in  August, 
September,  October,  or  from  the  middle  of  February  to  the  1st  of  April.  From  re- 
maining green  through  the  winter  it  is  somel  imes  called  "  evergreen  grass."  Mowed 
and  dried  it  makes  a  good  hay,  much  relished  by  stock. 

(Plate  81.) 


72 


Festuca  ovina  (Shesps*  Fescoe). 

A  densely  tufted,  perennial  grass,  with  an  abundance  of  rather  narrow,  sometimes 
involute,  short,  radical  leaves,  and  slender  culms.  1  to  H  feet  high.  The  panicle  is 
•J  to  4  inches,  long,  narrow,  the  branches  mostly  single  and  alternate,  erect  and  few- 
flowered;  the  spikelt-ts  are  mostly  three  to  five-flowered,  and  about  3  lines  long; 
the  outer  glumes  are  acute  ami  narrow.  The  dowering  glumes  are  lanceolate,  two 
lines  long,  roughish,  and  with  a  short,  rough  awn  about  half  a  line  long. 

This  species  Las  many  varieties  both  in  this  country  and  in  Europe. 
It  is  indigenous  in  the  mountainous  parts  of  New  England,  in  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  and  in  various  northern  localities. 

As  found  in  cultivation  it  has  been  derived  from  Europe. 

Hon.  J.  S.  Gould,  of  New  York,  says  : 

It  forms  the  great  bulk  of  the  sheep  pastures  of  the  highlands  of  Scotland,  where  it 
is  the  favorite  food  of  the  sheep,  and  where  the  shepherds  believe  it  to  be  more  nutri- 
tious for  their  flocks  than  any  other.  Gmeliu  says  that  the  Tartars  choose  to  encamp 
during  the  summer  where  this  grass  is  most  abundant,  because  they  believe  that  it 
affords  the  most  wholesome  food  for  all  cattle,  but  especially  for  sheep.  Nature  dis- 
tributes it  among  dry.  sandy,  and  rocky  soils,  where  scarcely  any  other  species  would 
grow.  It  is  without  doubt  the  very  best  of  the  grasses  growing  on  saudy  soils.  It 
roots  deeply,  and  forms  a  dense,  short  turf,  which  adapts  it  admirably  for  lawns  and 
pleasure  grounds,  where  the  soil  is  saudy.  It  is  almost  useless  as  a  hay  crop,  as  its 
leaves  and  culms  are  too  fine  to  give  a  remunerative  amount  of  hay  ;  it  is  only  as  a 
pasture  grass  on  sandy  soils  that  it  is  valuable  ;  and  in  these,  when  highly  manured, 
it  is  driven  out  by  the  more  succulent  species.  It  is  often  found  4,000  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  sea.     Its  seeds  weigh  about  14  pounds  to  the  bushel. 

(Plate  82.) 

Festuca  scabrella  (Bunch  Grass).. 

The  culms  are  usually  2  to  3  feet  high,  erect,  and  smooth  ;  the  radical  leaves  are 
numerous,  about  half  as  long  as  the  culms,  generally  rigid,  involute,  and  scabrouson 
the  margins:  the  blade  is  prone  to  separate  when  old,  leaving  an  abundance  of  leaf- 
less sheaths  at  the  base  ;  the  cauline  leaves  are  about  two,  short  and  poilited.  2  to  4 
inches  long  ;  the  sheaths  scabrous,  the  ligule  short  or  wanting  :  the  panicle  is  usually 
3  to  5  inches  long. 

A  perennial  grass  growing  in  strong  clumps  or  bunches,  and  hence 
called  u  bunch  grass. n  It  is  a  native  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  region, 
from  Colorado  westward  to  California  and  Oregon. 

In  Montana  it  is  called  the  great  bunch  grass  and  is  one  of  the  prin- 
cipal grasses  of  that  country.  It  is  the  prevailing  species  on  the  foot- 
hills and  mountain  slopes  at  from  0,000  to  7,000  feet  altitude.  "It  is 
rather  too  hard  a  grass  for  sheep,  but  there  is  no  grass  more  valued  on 
the  '  summer  ranges' for  cattle  and  horses.  It  makes  excellent  hay 
for  horses  and  is  cut  in  large  quantities  for  this  purpose.  It  grows  in 
large  tussocks,  making  it  rather  a  difficult  grass  to  mow  with  a  ma- 
chine." It  is  one  of  the  most  important  grasses  of  eastern  Oregon  and 
Washington.     (Plate  83.) 


73 

BROMUS. 

(Brome  Grass.) 

Spikelets  five  to  many-flowered,  in  a  dense,  or  lax,  or  diffuse  panicle  :  the  rhachis 
between  the  flowers  glabrons ;  outer  glumes  more  or  Less  unequal,  shorter  than  the 
lowest  flower,  membranaceous,  acute,  awnless,  or  short  mncronate,  one  to  oine- 
nerved  ;  flowering  glume  from  membranaceous  to  rigid,  and  Bubcoriaceous,  rounded 

on  the  back  or  compressed  and  keeled,  five  to  nine-nerved,  acute,  and  awned  from 
below  the  mostly  two-cleft  apex  ;  palet  rather  shorter  than  the  glumes,  two-keeled, 

the  keels  rigid  and  ciliate;  grain  adhering  to  the  palet. 

Bromus  secalinus  (Chess;  Cheat). 

It  is  an  old  tradition  which  some  farmers  still  cling  to  that  chess  is  a 
degenerated  wheat;  that  the  action  of  frost  and  other  causes  occasion 
the  deterioration,  whereas  the  truth  undoubtedly  is  that  chess  seed  was 
either  in  the  land  or  in  the  seed  sown,  and,  being  more  hardy  than 
wheat,  it  survived  the  frost  and  took  possession  of  the  ground.  Sonic 
years  ago  this  grass  had  a  temporary  popularity  under  tin1  name  of 
Willard's  brome  grass,  but  it  was  soon  abandoned  when  brought  into 
competition  with  better  grasses. 

In  the  South  it  would  perhaps  be  a  good  winter  grass,  like  its  relative 
Bromus  unioloides,  but  it  is  not  as  vigorous  a  grass  as  that  species, 
and  does  not  produce  such  an  abundance  of  foliage.     (Plate  84.) 

Bromus  uuioloides  (Schrader's  Grass;  Rescue  Grass). 

Iu  its  early  growth  it  spreads  and  produces  a  large  amount  of  leaves  ;  early  in  the 
spring  it  sends  up  its  flower  stalks,  which  grow  about  3  feet  high,  with  a  large,  open, 
spreading  panicle,  the  ends  of  the  hranchlets  bearing  the  large,  flattened  spike- 
lets,  which,  when  mature,  hang  gracefully  upon  their  stems,  giving  them  quite  ;m 
ornamental  appearance.  These  spikelets  are  from  1  inch  to  H  inches  in  length,  and 
composed  of  two  acute,  lanceolate  glumes  at  the  base,  and  from  seven  to  ten  flowers, 
arranged  in  two  rows  alternate  on  each  side  of  the  axis.  The  flowers  are  lanceolate, 
or  ovate-lanceolate,  the  flowering  glume  extending  into  a  line  point  or  short  awn. 

This  is  one  of  the  so-called  winter  grasses;  that  is,  it  makes,  iu  the 
South,  a  large  share  of  its  growth  during  the  winter  months. 

During  several  years  past  this  grass  has  been  sent  to  the  Depart- 
ment, chiefly  from  Louisiana  and  Texas,  and  has  been  much  com- 
mended. Many  years  since  the  same  grass  wras  distributed  and  experi- 
mented with  under  the  name  of  Australian  oats,  or  Bromus  Schraderi. 
It  is  not  adapted  to  use  in  a  country  with  severe  winters,  and  hence 
did  not  give  satisfaction  in  all  places. 

Mr.  C.  Mohr,  of  Mobile,  says  of  it: 

Only  of  late  years  found  spreading  in  different  parts  of  this  State  :  makes  its  ap- 
pearance in  February,  grows  in  tufts,  its  numerous  leafy  stems  growing  from  2  to 
3  feet  high;  it  ripens  the  seed  in  May;  affords  in  the  earlier  months  of  spring  a 
much-relished,  nutritious  food,  as  well  as  good  hay. 

It  is  said  to  have  been  introduced  into  Georgia  by  General  Iverson,  of 
Columbus,  and  by  him  called  rescue  grass.  The  favorable  opinion  which 
it  at  first  received  does  not  seem  to  have  been  well  sustained  in  that 
State. 


74 
Professor  Phares,  of  Mississippi,  says : 

This  grass  is  also  called  Bromus  Schraderi,  Bromus  Willdenovii,Ceratochloa  unioloides, 
and  Festuea  unioloides.  It  is  an  annual  winter  grass.  It  varies  in  the  time  of  start- 
ing growth.  I  have  seen  it  ready  for  mowing  the  first  of  October,  and  furnish  fre- 
quent cuttings  till  April.  Again,  it  may  not  start  before  January  nor  be  ready  to 
cut  till  February.  This  depends  on  the  moisture  and  depression  of  temperature  of 
the  fall,  the  seeds  germinating  only  at  a  low  temperature.  When  once  started,  its 
growth  after  the  successive  cuttings  or  grazings  is  very  rapid.  It  is  tender,  very 
sweet,  and  stock  eat  it  greedily.  It  makes  also  a  good  hay.  It  produces  an  im- 
mense quantity  of  leaves.  On  loose  soil  some  of  it  may  be  pulled  up  by  animals 
grazing  it. 

(Plate  85.) 
Bromus  ciliatus. 

A  tall,  coarse  species,  much  addicted  to  rocky  woodlands,  but  of  no 
agricultural  value. 

LOLIUM. 

Spikelets  several-flowered,  solitary  on  each  joint  of  the  continuous  rhachis  of  the 
simple  spike,  placed  edgewise  against  the  rhachis,  the  glume  wanting  on  the  inside, 
the  outer  empty  glume  nearly  as  long  as,  or  longer  than,  the  spikelets;  flowering 
glume  rounded  on  Ihe  back,  not  keeled  ;  palet  shorter,  two-keeled. 

Lolium  perenne  (Italian  Rye  Grass). 

A  perennial  grass,  introduced  from  Europe.  The  culms  are  2  to  3  feet  high,  very 
leafy,  and  terminating  in  a  loose,  spike-like  panicle,  6  inches  or  more  in  length. 
The  spikelets  are  arranged  alternately  on  the  axis,  placed  edgewise ;  that  is,  with  one 
edge  of  the  flat  spikelet  applied  to  the  main  stem  at  short  distances,  so  that  there 
may  be  twenty  or  more  in  the  panicle.  The  spikelets  are  one-half  to  three-fourths 
of  an  inch  long;  generally  seven  to  eleven-flowered.  The  inner  empty  glume  is  gen- 
erally wanting,  so  that,  except  on  the  terminal  spikelets,  only  one  glume  is  apparent, 
which  is  half  or  more  than  half  the  length  of  the  spikelet,  narrowly  lanceolate,  and 
acute.  The  general  appearance  of  the  panicle  is  like  that  of  couch  grass  (Agropyrum 
repens).  The  flowering  glumes  are  thickish,  obscurely  nerved,  rather  hispid,  acutely 
pointed,  or,  in  the  variety  Italicum,  with  a  rather  long  awn.  The  proper  palets  are 
similar  to  the  flowering  glumes,  and  of  nearly  equal  length. 

An  intelligent  writer  whom  we  have  frequently  quoted,  says,  respect- 
ing this  grass : 

It  occupies  the  same  place  in  Great  Britain  that  Timothy  does  with  us,  and  is  there 
esteemed,  on  the  whole,  higher  than  any  other  species  of  grass,  and  is  called  rye  grass 
or  ray  grass.  Of  all  the  varieties  of  Lolium  perenne  which  are  known,  that  called 
Italicum  is  by  far  the  most  valuable.  Its  spikelets  are  conspicuously  bearded,  the 
flowers  being  all  terminated  by  long,  slender  awns,  which  character  distinguishes  it 
very  easily  from  Lolium  perenne.  Its  name  (Italian  rye  grass)  is  derived  from  the  fact 
that  its  native  habitat  is  on  the  plains  of  Lombardy,  where  broad  and  extensive  plains 
of  pasture  land  are  frequently  inundated  by  the  mountain  streams  which  intersect 
them.  It  is  mainly  adapted  to  irrigated  meadows,  and  in  these  it  is  undoubtedly 
superior  to  any  other  grass. 

Professor  Phares  says: 

This  grass  stands  drought  well  aud  grows  most  luxuriantly  in  our  Southern  States. 
If  not  kept  grazed  or  mowed,  however,  the  leaves  cover  the  ground  so  deeply  and 
densely  that  an  excess  of  rain  in  very  hot  weather  in  the  extreme  South  causes  it 


75 

to  rot  suddenly,  destroying  even  the  roots.  Tliis  I  have  never  soon  or  hoard  men- 
tioned by  any  other  person,  bat  it  occurred  00  my  own  farm  one  .season,  where  I  was 
reserving  a  lot  for  seed. 

(Plate  8G.) 
Lolium  temulentum  (Poison  Darnel). 

This  species  is  frequently  found  in  grain  fields.  The  seeds  have 
long  enjoyed  a  reputation  of  being  poisonous  to  stock,  and  also  to  man- 
kind when  mixed  in  large  quantity  with  the  wheat  or  rye  used  in 
the  making  of  bread.  The  question  seems  hardly  yet  decided,  but  it  is 
best  to  exterminate  the  grass  as  a  weed  and  a  pest. 

AGROPYRUM. 

Spikelets  several-flowered  (three  to  nine,  or  more),  compressed,  alternately  sessile 
on  the  continuous  or  slightly-notched  rhachis  of  the  simple  spike,  and  with  the  side 
against  the  rhachis;  outer  glumes  nearly  equal  and  opposite,  membranaceous  or 
herbaceous,  one  to  three-nerved,  scarcely  keeled,  tapering  to  a  point  or  awned;  the 
flowering  similar  to  the  outer  ones,  rounded  on  the  hack ;  three  to  seven-nerved, 
pointed  or  awned  from  the  apex;  palet  nearly  as  long  as  its  glnme,  the  two  prominent 
nerves  almost  marginal,  scahrous  ciliate. 

Agropyrum  glaucum  (Blue  Stem  ;  Bluejoint). 

This  species,  which  has  been  considered  a  variety  of  the  next,  pre- 
vails on  the  Western  plains  from  Texas  to  Montana,  and  is  well 
known  to  stockmen.  It  differs  from  Agropyrum  repens  in  having  a 
stiffer,  more  erect  and  rigid  stem  and  leaves,  the  leaves  often  becoming 
involute.  It  is  generally  of  a  light,  bluish-green  color.  The  spike  is 
generally  shorter,  denser,  and  with  larger  spikelets. 

Professor  Scribner,  writing  of  this  grass  in  Montana,  says : 

It  is  the  most  highly  praised  of  the  native  grasses  for  hay.  Wherever  it  occupies 
exclusively  any  large  area  of  ground,  as  it  does  frequently  in  the  lower  districts, 
especialy  near  Fort  Benton,  it  is  cut  for  hay.  Naturally  it  does  not  yield  a  great 
bulk,  hut  its  quality  is  unsurpassed.  After  two  or  three  cuttings  the  yield  of  hay 
diminishes  so  much  that  it  is  scarcely  worth  the  harvesting.  It  is  then  customary  to 
drag  a  short-toothed  harrow  over  the  sod,  which  breaks  up  the  creeping  roots  or 
underground  stems,  and  each  fragment  then  makes  a  new  plant. 

The  same  valuable  opinion  of  this  grass  is  entertained  by  stockmen 
in  Nebraska,  Colorado,  and  New  Mexico.  It  occurs  nearly  everywhere, 
but  sparsely,  on  the  plains,  and  extending  quite  up  into  the  mountains. 
In  the  valleys  and  along  streams  it  frequently  forms  large  patches  and 
grows  closer  and  more  abundant,  when  it  is  commonly  cut  for  winter 
use.     (Plate  87.) 

Agropyrum  repens  (Conch  Grass;  Quack  Grass). 

There  has  been  a  good  deal  of  discussion  relative  to  this  grass,  some 
pronouncing  it  one  of  the  vilest  of  weeds,  and  others  claiming  for  it 
high  nutritive  qualities  overweighingall  thedisadvantages  of  its  growth. 
Whichever  party  may  be  right,  it  is  proper  that  farmers  should  be  ac- 
quainted with  it  in  order  to  know  how  to  treat  it,  and  hence  our  de- 
scription. It  forms  a  dense  sod  by  means  of  its  far-reaching  rhizomas  or 
root  stocks,  which  have  short  joints,  and  roots  tenaciously  at  every  joint. 


76 

It  has  an  abundance  of  foliage,  and  sends  up  a  flowering  culm  2  to  3 
feet  high,  which  is  terminated  by  a  close,  narrow  spike  of  flowers  from 
3  to  G  inches  long.  This  spike  consists  of  a  succession  of  closely  set 
spikelets,  one  at  each  joint  of  the  axis,  and  placed  flatwise  with  the  side 
against  the  stalk.  Each  spikelet  contains  several  (three  to  eight)  flow- 
ers,  with  a  pair  of  nearly  equal  and  opposite  three  to  five-nerved  glumes 
at  the  base. 

Hon.  J.  S.  Gould  says : 

The  farmers  of  the  United  States  unite  in  one  continuous  howl  of  execration  against 
this  grass,  and  it  seems  strange,  when  every  man's  hand  is  against  it,  that  it'is  not 
exterminated.  Yet,  we  could  never  really  satisfy  ourselves  that  its  presence  in 
meadows  and  pastures  was  such  an  unmitigated  curse.  In  lands  where  alternate 
husbandry  is  practiced  it  must  be  admitted  to  be  an  evil  of  great  magnitude.  Its 
hardiness  is  such,  and  its  rapidity  of  growth  is  so  great,  that  it  springs  up  much  more 
rapidly  than  any  other  crop  that  can  be  planted,  and  chokes  it.  Still,  it  has  many 
virtues.  It  is  perfectly  cosmopolitan  in  its  habits.  It  is  found  in  all  sorts  of  soil  and 
climates.  Its  creeping  roots  are  succulent  and  very  nutritive,  and  are  greedily  de- 
voured by  horses  and  cows. 

(Plate  88.) 

Agi  opyrum  tenerum. 

This  grass  prevails  in  the  Rocky  Mountain  region  from  New  Mexico 
to  Oregon,  and  has  been  commonly  called  a  variety  of  Agropyrum  re- 
pens,  from  which  it  differs  essentially  in  wanting  the  running  root  stalks, 
in  a  narrower,  nearly  cylindrical  spike,  and  in  growing  in  clumps.  It 
occurs  mostly  in  low,  moist  grounds,  and,  like  the  Agropyrum  glaucum, 
it  is  one  of  the  best  grasses  for  hay.  It  ripens  in  July,  and  affords  very 
little  feed  thereafter. 

HORDEUM. 

Inflorescence  a  dense  spike,  with  two  or  three  spikelets  at  each  joint  of  the  notched 
rhachis  ;  spikelets  one-flowered,  with  an  awl-shaped  rudiment  of  a  second  flower,  the 
central  spikelet  of  the  cluster  perfect  and  sessile,  the  lateral  ones  short-stalked  and 
imperfect  or  abortive  ;  outer  glumes  side  by  side,  two  to  eacb  spikelet,  usually  slender 
and  awn-pointed,  or  bristle  form  ;  flowering  glume  herbaceous,  shorter,  oblong,  or 
lanceolate,  rounded  on  the  back,  not  keeled,  five-nerved,  acute  or  long-awned  ;  palet 
shorter,  two-keeled. 

Hordeum  jubatum  (Wild  Barley  ;  Squirrel-tail  Grass). 

On  the  sea-coast  and  saline  soil  in  the  interior,  especially  on  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  It  has  no  agricultural  value,  but  its  long-barbed  awns  are 
injurious  to  the  mouths  of  cattle. 

Hordeum  murinum. 

Professor  Brewer  states  that  this  grass,  unfortunately,  is  extensively 
naturalized  in  California  and  is  a  vile  pest ;  it  comes  in  when  land  is 
overstocked;  is  known  there  as  "squirrel  grass,"  "squirrel  tail,"  "fox- 
tail," and  "white  oats."  The  heads  break  up  and  the  barbed  seeds 
work  into  the  wool  of  sheep  and  even  into  the  flesh  of  lambs,  killing 
them.    It  damages  the  eyes  and  throats  of  animals. 


77 

Hordeum  pratense. 

An  annual  or  biennial  grass  growing  principally  in  alkaline  soil  in 
the  Western  States  and  Territories.  It  is  eaten  by  cattle  when  in  a 
young  state,  but  when  mature  it  is  worthless  and  pestiferous  on  account 
of  its  barbed  awns. 

ELYMUS. 

Spikelets  two  to  four  at  each  joint  of  the  rhachia  of  the  simple  stout  spike,  Bessile, 
one  to  six-flowered  ;  outer  glumes  two  for  eaeb  ;  spikelets  nearly  side  by  side  in  it u 
front,  forming  a  kind  of  involucre  for  the  cluster,  narrow,  rigid, one  to  three-nerved, 
acuminate  or  awned  ;  flowering  glumes  herbaceous,  rather  shorter,  oblong  or  lan- 
ceolate, rounded  on  the  back,  not  keeled,  acute  or  awned;  palet  shorter  than  its 
glume,  two-keeled. 
Elymus  Canadensis  (Wild  Eye  ;  Rye  Grass  ;  Lyme  Grass). 

A  perennial,  coarse  grass,  growing  on  river  banks  and  in  rich,  shaded 
woods.  In  some  localities,  especially  on  moist  prairies  and  banks  in  the 
west,  it  is  quite  common  and  is  cut  for  hay.  It  should  be  cut  early  to 
be  of  value.     (Plate  89.) 

Elymus  condensatus  (Giant  Rye  Grass.) 

This  is  a  perennial  grass,  ranging  from  San  Diego  throughout  Cali- 
fornia, and  into  Oregon  and  Washington  Territory,  also  in  the  Rocky 
Mountain  region  of  the  interior.  It  is  very  variable,  but  always  a  strong, 
heavy  rooted,  coarse  grass,  from  3  to  5  or  even  to  12  feet  high.  Mr.  Bo- 
lander  states  that  it  seems  to  do  excellent  service  by  fixing  the  soil  on 
the  banks  of  creeks  and  rivers.  In  the  larger  forms  the  culms  are  half 
an  inch  thick.  The  leaves  are  smooth,  2  feet  long  and  an  inch  wide  or 
more,  and  the  panicle  8  to  14  inches  long  and  1£  inches  thick.  As  it 
usually  occurs  in  arid  grounds,  it  is  from  3  to  G  feet  high,  the  leaves 
about  1  foot  long  and  half  an  inch  wide,  and  the  spike-like  panicle  4  to 
8  inches.  In  the  large  form  the  branches  of  the  panicle  are  subdivided 
and  1  or  2  inches  long. 

Mr.  W.  G.  Cusick,  of  Oregon,  says : 

This  is  a  very  valuable  grass,  commonly  known  as  rye  grass.  In  Baker  County 
large  quantities  are  cut  for  hay,  for  which  it  is  said  to  be  excellent.  It  is  also  much 
used  as  a  winter  forage  plant.  Cattle  are  driven  into  the  dry  bottoms,  where  it  grows, 
and  live  upon  it  when  the  shorter  grasses  are  covered  with  snow. 

(Plate  90.) 

Elymus  triticoides. 

This  has  been  considered  a  variety  of  Elymus  condensatus,  from  which 
it  differs  in  having  strong  runners,  and  not  growing  in  thick  clumps, 
but  scattering  and  singly.  Mr.  Cusick  says  it  is  a  valuable  grass  in 
Oregon,  and  cut  for  hay  in  wild  meadows. 

Elymus  Virginicus  (Wild  Rye  Grass;  Terrell  Grass). 

The  culm  is  rather  stout,  2  to  3  feet  high,  leafy  ;  the  lower  leaves  are  10  to  15  inches 
long,  broad  and  rough.  The  sheath  of  the  upper  leaf  usually  incloses  the  stalk, 
and  sometimes  the  base  of  the  flower-spike.  This  spike  is  erect,  dense,  and  rigid,  2 
to  4  or  5  inches  long,  and  one-half  inch  thick.    The  epikelets  are  two  or  three  to- 


78 

gether  at  each  joint,  all  alike  ami  fertile,  sessile,  two  to  five -flowered,  and  each  with 
a  pair  of  empty  glomes.  These  glomes  are  very  thick  and  coarse,  strongly  nerved, 
lanceolate  and  bristle-pointed,  about  1  inch  long.  The  floweriog  glumes  terminate 
in  a  still',  straight  awn,  half  an  inch  to  nearly  an  inch  long,  the  lowest  one  in  the 
spikelets  having  the  longest  awn,  the  others  gradually  shorter.  The  palet  is  oblong, 
obtuse,  and  as  long  as  the  flowering  glume,  excluding  the  awn. 

A  coarse,  perennial  grass,  growing  on  alluvial  river  banks,  or  in  rich, 
low  grounds. 

This  grass  frequently  forms  a  considerable  portion  of  native  meadow 
lands,  and  makes  a  coarse  bay.  It  starts  growth  early  in  the  spring, 
and  thus  affords  a  good  pasturage.  Professor  Killebrew,  of  Tenuessee, 
says  it  is  very  valuable  and  ought  to  be  tried  in  cultivation. 

Professor  Phares,  of  Mississippi,  says: 

This  perennial  grass  is  a  native  of  the  Southern  States.  As  all  farm  stock,  except 
hogs,  are  fond  of  it,  and  it  is  green  through  the  winter  and  spring,  it  has  been  de- 
stroyed when  grazing  animals  have  access  to  it  at  all  times.  It  is,  however,  found  in 
many  of  our  States,  along  the  banks  of  wooded  streams,  of  ditches,  and  in  fence  cor- 
ners among  briers  and  thickets.  It  will  grow  on  thin  clay,  gravelly,  or  sandy  soil, 
but  much  better  on  rich  lands,  dry  or  rather  moist,  and  will  thrive  ten,  twenty,  or 
more  years  on  the  same  land. 

(Plate  91.) 

ARTJNDINARIA. 

Spikelets  many-flowered,  flattened,  racemose  or  paniculate,  the  uppermost  flowers 
imperfect ;  outer  glumes  very  small,  membranaceous,  the  upper  one  larger  ;  flowering 
glumes  much  larger,  membranaceo-herbaceous,  convex  on  the  back,  not  keeled,  many- 
nerved,  acuminate,  mucronate,  or  bristle-pointed;  palet  shorter  than  its  glume, 
prominently  two-keeled. 
Arundinaria  tecta  (Switch  Cane  ;  Small  Cane). 

Professor  Phares,  of  Mississippi,  says  of  this  grass  : 

This  largest  of  our  grasses  has  a  hard,  woody  stem  from  one-half  to  3  inches  in  diame- 
ter, and  from  10  to  40  feet  high,  erect,  tapering  from  near  the  base,  jointed  every  8  to  12 
inches  for  one-half  the  length  or  more,  then  the  joints  becoming  shorter  and  smaller 
to  the  top;  leaves  1  to  2  inches  wide,  persistent,  on  clustered,  spreadiug  branches 
which  also  are  jointed  and  appear  the  second  year.  On  rich  laud  in  spring  the  young 
stems  shoot  up  full  size,  ten  or  twenty  feet  high,  and  are  as  crisp  as  asparagus,  and 
by  some  persons  as  much  relished.  Hogs,  cattle,  and  other  animals  are  fond  of  the 
young  plants  and  seeds.  The  age  at  which  the  large  cane  blooms  has  not  been  defi- 
nitely decided.  It  probably  varies  with  the  latitude,  soil,  and  surroundings,  from 
ten  to  thirty  years.  When  the  seeds  mature  the  caue  dies.  Grazing  animals  feed 
greedily  on  the  leaves  in  the  winter  and  find  protection  from  the  driving  rains  and 
piercing  winds  under  the  dense  roof  of  the  canebrake  or  thicket.  The  stems  are 
used  for  fishing-rods,  scaffolds  for  drying  cotton,  for  pipe-stems  and  pipes,  and  splints 
for  baskets,  mats,  and  other  purposes.  The  small  cane  is  different  in  habit  from  the 
large  cane.  It  blooms  sometimes  two  or  more  consecutive  years  without  dying  down 
to  the  root.  Live  stock  like  it  as  well  as  the  large  cane.  Both  grow  best  on  rich 
lands,  hills,  or  bottoms;  but  they  will  grow  on  thin  clay  soil,  improve  it,  and  if  pro- 
tected from  stock,  rapidly  extend  by  sending  out  long  roots  (rootstocks)  with  buds. 

The  small  cane  is  found  sparingly  as  far  north  as  Baltimore,  Md, 
The  large  cane  is  probably  conliued  to  the  Gulf  States,  but  this  is  un- 
certain. 


CULTIVATED  FORAGE  PLANTS  OTHER  THAN  GRASSES. 


Order  LEGUMINOS.E. 
The  Clover  Family. 

This  order  is  characterized  by  having  alternate,  usually  compound,  loaves,  with 
stipules;  flowers  polypetalous,  the  calyx  mostly  five-lobed,  the  corolla  generally  with 
five  irregular  petals,  usually  ten  stamens,  sometimes  five,  or  many,  usually  united  by 
the  filaments,  or  nine  united  and  one  free,  or  sometimes  all  distinct ;  the  ovary  a  one- 
celled  carpel,  becoming  a  legume  or  pod  with  few  or  many  seeds,  the  pod  sometimes 
marked  into  joints  called  foments. 

The  order  embraces  an  immense  number  of  plants  of  varying  char- 
acter, some  small  and  insignificant,  some  trees  of  large  size.  Many 
of  the  most  useful  vegetable  products  are  obtained  from  it. 

TRIFOLIUM. 

(The  Clovers.) 

This  genus  is  one  of  the  most  useful  of  the  order  and  embraces  a  large 
number  of  species,  several  of  which  are  well  known  in  cultivation. 

The  genus  is  characterized  by  having  the  leaves  mostly  trifoliate;  that  is,  made  up 
of  three  leaflets  at  the  end  of  the  leaf-stalk ;  some  species  have  five  or  more  leaflets, 
either  close  together  at  the  end  of  the  leaf-stalk  or  somewhat  scattered  in  opposite 
pairs.  The  flowers  are  collected  in  roundisb  or  oblong  heads,  with  or  without  a  gen- 
eral involucre.  The  calyx  is  five-toothed,  the  petals  five,  irregular,  persistent ;  nine 
stamens  united  and  one  free  ;  the  pod  small,  mostly  inclosed  in  the  calyx,  and  one  to 
four- seeded. 

Trifolium  pratense  (Red  Clover;  Common  Clover). 

Red  clover  is  so  well  known  to  the  agricultural  community  that  it 
requires  very  little  description.  It  is  usually  a  perennial  of  a  few  years 
duration,  a  native  of  Europe  and  Asia,  but  early  introduced  into  this 
country.  Its  cultivation  is  said  to  have  begun  in  England  about  two 
hundred  and  fifty  years  ago.  It  is  one  of  the  most  important  of  culti- 
vated crops,  both  for  feed  for  animals  and  as  an  improver  of  the  soil. 

A  writer  in  the  Country  Gentleman  says : 

No  matter  how  mismanaged,  clover  is  a  benefit,  and  whatever  else  he  may  do,  the 
farmer  who  grows  clover  is  making  his  farm  better.  It  does  not  need  cultivating  ;  the 
long  deep-reaching  roots  mellow  and  pulverize  the  soil  as  nothing  else  can.  If  it 
grows  thriftily  the  top  acts  as  a  mulch,  seeding  the  ground  and  keeping  it  moist.  A 
crop  of  2  tons  or  more  of  clover  plowed  under  or  cut  for  hay  can  hardly  fail  to 
leave  the  ground  better  than  it  was  before.  It  should  be  the  farmer's  aim  to  grow 
the  largest  possible  crop  of  clover. 

79 


80 
The  Rural  New  Yorker  says : 

Ten  acres  of  good  clover  are  worth  more  than  so  much  wheat,  if  the  value  of 
what  is  left  in  the  ground  by  the  clover  is  taken  into  account.  When  a  crop  of 
wheat  is  taken  the  ground  is  exhausted  of  so  much  of  its  fertility,  which  is  carried 
off  in  the  wheat,  but  when  a  crop  of  clover  is  taken  the  soil  is  actually  in  better 
condition  than  before,  and  is  good  enough  to  yield  a  crop  of  wheat  or  corn. 

A  Wisconsin  farmer  says : 

If  you  want  to  clear  your  land  of  weeds,  sow  clover  and  sow  it  thick.  If  you  want 
to  grow  big  corn-crops,  grow  clover  and  pasture  off  with  hogs.  Plow  up  the  land  in 
the  fall,  and  the  corn-crop  following  will  make  you  happy.  If  you  want  to  make  rich 
farms  and  make  money,  grow  clover,  corn,  and  hogs. 

Professor  Beal  says : 

Red  clover  is  well  adapted  to  many  portions  of  the  temperate  regions  of  the  earth. 
It  likes  best  a  soil  of  clay  loam,  rich  in  lime,  but  will  thrive  better  than  Timothy  and 
most  other  true  grasses  where  the  land  is  sandy  or  gravelly.  On  good  grass-land  it 
is  usually  the  custom  to  sow  Timothy  with  red  clover,  although  it  blossoms  some 
three  weeks  later.  Many  prefer  to  sow  orchard  grass  with  clover,  as  they  flower  and 
aie  ready  to  cut  at  the  same  time.  Timothy  is  well  adapted  to  sow  with  the  large, 
late,  or  mammoth  clover. 

There,  are  some  portions  of  the  country  where,  owing  either  to  cli- 
mate or  soil,  red  clover  has  not  been  successful,  and  in  those  places 
some  other  leguminous  plant  can  generally  be  substituted  with  advan- 
tage. 

Trifolium  medium  (Mammoth  Clover). 

The  true  botanical  position  of  the  clovers  cultivated  in  this  country 
under  the  names  of  mammoth,  sapling,  or  pea-vine  clover,  etc.,  is  still 
somewhat  in  doubt.  They  are  usually  regarded  as  being  the  above- 
meutioned  species,  but  are  perhaps  a  variety  or  varieties  of  the  com- 
mon red  clover,  Trifolium  pratense. 

They  agree  in  having  a  larger  and  later  growth  than  the  ordinary 
red  clover,  and  on  this  account  are  for  some  purposes  more  valuable. 

The  following  records  of  experience  may  be  relied  upon  for  the  lo- 
calities mentioned. 

Prof.  Samuel  Johnson,  Agricultural  College,  Michigan : 

It  grows  too  rank  and  coarse  to  make  good  hay.  For  pasture  or  for  manurial 
purposes  it  might  prove  better  than  the  smaller  sort.  When  grown  for  seed  it  is 
usually  pastured  until  the  1st  of  June,  and  then  allowed  to  grow  up  and  mature 

the  crops. 

M.  C.  Alger,  Augusta,  Michigan: 

Pasturing  until  the  first  of  June  insures  a  larger  yield  of  seed,  as  it  is  cooler  while 
filling,  but  many  do  not  pasture.  I  do  not  think  it  can  be  cut  more  years  than  the 
smaller  kind.  It  is  said  to  stand  drought  better,  but  I  doubt  that.  -It  will  give 
three  times  the  amount  of  pasture  during  the  season  that  is  given  by  the  smaller 
kind  if  kept  down  pretty  close,  but  during  the  fall  the  amount  of  pasture  produced  is 
less.  It  is  said  to  smother  out  in  winter  if  a  large  amount  is  left  on  the  ground. 
Another  objection  is  that  it  requires  cutting  just  at  harvest-time. 


81 
C.  M.  Alger,  Newaygo,  Michigan : 

I  have  raised  the  mammoth  clover,  but  do  not  like  it  for  my  heavy  land,  as  it  grows 
too  large.  For  every  acre  that  I  raise  I  have  to  buy  or  borrow  two  more  of  my  neighbor's 
to  cure  it  on.  It  is,  however,  excellent  for  pasture,  as  it  stays  on  the  ground  longer 
than  the  medium  variety.  It  is  good  for  raising  swd,  as  it  nearly  always  tills  full.  I 
have  seen  8  bushels  per  acre.  The  seed  is  always  grown  on  the  fust  crop,  as  tin; 
second  neAer  blossoms.  It  grows  here  from  4  to  5  feet  high  and  is  good  for  plow- 
ing under  for  manure. 

Austin  Potts,  Galesburgb,  Michigan  : 

Perhaps  not  over  20  per  cent,  of  the  clover  grown  here  is  of  the  mammoth  variety. 
It  does  not  seed  as  well  as  the  common  clover. 

L.  H.  Bursley,  Jeuisonville,  Michigan : 

I  do  not  find  it  as  good  for  hay  as  the  common  red  clover  :  the  stalks  are  so  large 
that  stock  will  not  eat  them  at  all.  For  pasture  it  is  better  than  the  small  variety. 
It  does  not  require  pasturing  in  spring  in  order  to  produce  a  crop  of  seed. 

James  Hendricks,  Albany,  N.  Y. : 

About  twenty  years  ago  there  was  treble  the  quantity  sown  in  this  part  of  Albany 
County  that  there  is  at  present;  now  nearly  all  our  farmers  sow  the  medium  clover 
with  Timothy. 

Prof.  F.  A.  Gully,  Agricultural  College,  Mississippi : 

On  good  laud  with  us  it  grows  rank,  and  the  long  steins  fall  down  and  mat  on  the 
ground,  and  if  we  happen  to  have  wet  weather  the  lower  leaves  and  parts  of  the 
stalk  will  begin  to  decay  before  the  plant  is  in  full  bloom. 

The  secoud  crop  ripens  seed,  but  to  what  extent  I  can  not  say  ;  I  consider  the 
common  red  clover  more  desirable  here,  although  it  may  not  yield  as  well. 

Trifolium  hybridum  (Alsike  Clover). 

This  differs  from  common  red  clover  in  being  later,  taller,  more  ten- 
der and  succulent.  The  flower-heads  are  upon  long  peduncles,  and  are 
intermediate  in  size  and  color  between  those  of  white  and  red  clover. 
The  botanical  name  was  so  given  from  its  being  supposed  by  Linnreus 
to  be  a  hybrid  between  those  clovers,  but  it  is  now  known  to  be  a  dis- 
tinct species.  It  is  found  native  over  a  large  part  of  Europe,  and  was 
first  cultivated  in  Sweden,  deriving  its  common  name  from  the  village 
of  Syke  in  that  country.  In  1834  it  was  taken  to  England,  and  in  1851 
to  Germany,  where  it  is  largely  grown,  not  only  for  its  excellent  forage 
but  also  for  its  seed,  which  commands  a  high  price.  In  France  it  is 
little  grown  as  yet,  and  is  frequently  confounded  with  the  less  produc- 
tive Trifolium  elegans. 

The  following  is  condensed  from  "Les  Prairies  Artificielles,7'  by  Ed. 
Vianno,  of  Paris : 

Alsike  does  not  attain  its  full  development  under  two  or  three  years, 
and  should  therefore  be  mixed  with  some  other  plant  for  permanent 
meadows.  It  is  best  adapted  to  cool,  damp,  calcareous  soil,  and  gives 
good  results  upon  reclaimed  marshes.  It  is  adapted  neither  to  very  dry 
soils,  nor  to  those  where  there  is  stagnant  water.  Being  of  slender 
growth,  rye  grass,  rye,  or  oats  are  often  sown  with  it  when  it  is  to  be 
3594  GR 6 


82 

mowed.  In  fertile  ground  weeds  are  apt  to  diminish  the  yield  after  a 
few  years,  so  that  it  requires  to  be  broken  up.  It  is  generally  sown  in 
May,  at  the  rate  of  G  or  7  pounds  of  the  clean  seed  per  acre.  Some- 
times it  is  sown  in  the  pods  at  the  rate  of  50  to  100  pounds  per  acre, 
either  in  spring  or  in  autumn  after  the  cereals  are  harvested. 

Alsike  sprouts  but  little  after  cuttiug,  and  therefore  produces  but  one 
crop  and  one  pasturage  The  yield  of  seed  is  usually  130  to  170  pounds 
per  acre.  The  seed  separates  more  easily  from  the  pods  than  that  of 
ordinary  clover,  and  as  the  heads  easily  break  off  when  dry,  care  is 
required  in  harvesting. 

It  does  not  endure  drought  as  well  as  the  common  red  clover,  but 
will  grow  on  more  damp  and  heavy  soils,  and  it  is  said  that  it  can  grow 
on  laud  which,  through  long  cultivation  of  the  common  clover,  has  be- 
come 4t  clover  sick."     (Plate  92.) 

Trifolium  incarnatum  (French  Clover). 

This  annual  clover  is  a  native  of  Europe.  It  grows  to  the  height  of 
about  2  feet.  The  heads  are  about  2  iuches  long,  very  densely  flowered, 
with  the  petals  ranging  from  a  pinkish  to  a  crimson  color. 

It  has  been  introduced  and  tried  to  some  extent  for  cultivation  in 
this  country,  but  has  not  met  with  much  favor.  It  deserves  trial,  how- 
ever, in  the  dry  climates  of  the  West.     (Plate  93.) 

Trifolium  repens  (White  Clover ;  Dutch  Clover). 

This  is  a  small  perennial  species,  with  prostrate  stems  which  take  root 
strongly  at  the  joints.  It  is  said  to  be  the  shamrock  of  Ireland.  It  is 
a  native  of  Europe  and  Northern  Asia,  and  has  been  introduced  into, 
and  naturalized  in,  many  other  countries.  It  is  said  that,  although  in- 
digenous in  England,  it  only  began  to  be  cultivated  at  the  beginning 
of  the  eighteenth  century.  On  account  of  its  creeping  habit,  when  once 
established,  it  soon  covers  the  ground  and  spreads  extensively.  Mr. 
Sutton,  an  English  writer,  says : 

It  prospers  on  mellow  land  containing  lime,  and  on  all  soils  rich  in  humus,  from 
marl  to  gravelly  clay.  It  does  better  in  poor  land  than  red  clover.  In  early  spring 
it  produces  very  little  food,  and  the  plant  is  so  dwarfed  that  it  is  practically  useless 
for  cutting  for  a  crop  of  hay.  Still,  perennial  white  clover  forms  an  essential  con- 
stituent of  every  good  pasture.  All  cattle  eat  it  with  relish,  but  it  is  of  less  use  for 
the  production  of  milk  than  of  flesh,  and  is  of  special  service  in  fattening  sheep.  It 
is  not  suitable  for  culture  by  itself,  and  its  herbage  is  better  for  cattle  when  mingled 
with  other  grasses,  especially  with  perennial  rye  grass. 

A  correspondent  of  Farm  and  Home  says : 

Every  pasture  should  contain  some  white  clover.  It  will  afford  more  feed  at  certain 
times  of  the  year  than  grass  or  any  other  kind  of  clover.  It  will  not  flourish  in  damp 
soils,  or  those  that  are  very  poor.  It  will  do  well  iu  a  partial  shade*,  as  a  grove  or 
orchard,  but  to  make  the  highest  excellence  it  should  have  the  advantage  of  full  sun- 
light. It  is  easy  to  secure  patches  of  white  clover  in  a  pasture  hy  scattering  seed  in 
early  spring  on  bare  places  and  brushing  it  in.  One  pound  of  seed  iy  enough  to  start 
white  clover  in  a  hundred  places.  The  disposition  of  this  clover  is  to  spread  by  means 
of  the  branches  that  run  along  the  ground  and  take  root. 


83 

Prof.  W.  J.  Beal,  of  Michigan  Agricultural  College,  says: 

White  clover  is  a  fickle  plant,  coining  and  going  with  the  varying  seasons.     It  often 

burns  out  in  hot  weather.  An  old,  hard  road,  once  abandoned,  is  likely  to  send  up 
white  clover  in  advance  of  the  grasses.  It  is  a  well-known  and  highly  prized  bee- 
plant.     It  is  often  sown  with  some  of  the  liner  grasses  for  lawns. 

Trifolium  stoloiiiferum  (Running  Buffalo  Clover). 

This  is  a  native  perennial  species,  growing  abont  a  fool  high;  long-  runners  an;  sent 
out  from  the  base,  which  are  procumbent  at  first,  becoming  erect.  The  leaves  are  all 
at  the  base,  except  one  pair  at  the  uppei  part  of  the  stem.  The  root-leaves  are  long- 
stalked,  and  have  three  thinnish  obovate  leaflets,  which  are  minutely  toothed.  The 
pair  of  leaves  on  the  stem  have  the  stalk  about  as  long  as  the  Leaflets,  pointed  ami 
entire  on  the  margins,  the  lower  ones  nearly  an  inch  long,  the  upper  ones  about  half 
as  long.  There  are  but  one  or  two  heads  on  each  .stem  at  the  summit,  each  on  a  pedi- 
cel longer  than  the  Leaves.  The  heads  are  about  an  inch  in  diameter,  rather  loosely 
flowered,  each  flower  being  on  a  short,  slender  pedicel,  or  stem,  which  bends  back- 
ward at  maturity.  Each  flower  has  a  long-toothed  calyx  about  half  as  long  as  the 
corolla,  which  is  white,  tinged  with  purple. 

This  species  is  found  in  rich  open  woodlands,  and  in  prairies  in  Ohio, 
Illinois,  Kentucky,  and  westward.  It  is  of  a  very  vigorous  growth,  but 
somewhat  smaller  in  size  than  the  common  red  clover.  It  should  re- 
ceive the  attention, of  farmers  and  its  value  be  ascertained  by  cultiva- 
tion and  experiment.     (Plate  91.) 

ONOBRYCHIS. 

Onobrychis  sativa  (Sainfoin). 

A  perennial,  having  somewhat  the  appearance  of  Lucerne,  but  of  smaller  size  and 
different  habit.  It  seldom  exceeds  1.1  feet  in  height,  with  a  weak  stem,  rather  long, 
pinnate  leaves,  and  flowers  of  a  pink  color  in  a  loose  spike,  2  to  4  inches  in  length, 
raised  on  a  long,  naked  peduncle  or  stalk.  The  flowers  are  succeeded  by  short,  single- 
seeded  pods,  which  are  strongly  reticulated  or  marked  by  raised  lines  and  depressed 
pits. 

This  leguminous  forage  plant  has  recently  been  introduced  into  this 
country  under  the  name  of  "aspercet."  Esparsette  is  the  German 
name;  sainfoin  is  the  name  used  in  France  and  England. 

Jt  is  a  native  of  Central  and  Southern  Europe  and  Western  Asia,  and 
in  Europe  has  long  been  in  cultivation.  From  experiments  made  by 
the  Duke  of  Bedford,  in  England,  we  learn  that  it  was  first  introduced 
to  English  farmers  as  a  plant  for  cultivation  from  Flanders  and  Prance, 
where  it  has  been  long  cultivated.  It  was  found  to  be  less  productive 
than  the  broad-leaved  clovers,  but  on  chalky  and  gravelly  soils  there 
was  abundant  proof  of  the  superiority  of  sainfoin.  It  produces  but 
little  herbage  the  first  year,  but  improves  in  quantity  for  several  years. 
Mr.  Martin  J.  Sutton,  in  a  recent  work  on  "Permanent  and  Tempo- 
rary Pastures,"  says  that  it  has  been  cultivated  in  England  for  over 
two  hundred  years.  He  says  that  it  is  essentially  a  food  for  sheep,  and 
in  pasturing  the  sheep  do  it  no  injury.  It  is  also  useful  for  horses,  but 
produces  nothing  like  the  quantity  of  green  fodder  that  can  be  obtained 


84 

from  the  Lucerne  patch.  When  sown  alone  Mr.  Sutton  says  that  sain- 
foin is  liable  to  decrease  and  become  overrun  with  weeds.  He  recom- 
mends its  use  as  a  predominant  constituent  in  a  mixture  of  grasses  and 
clovers.  He  says  that  combined  with  strong  growing  grasses  there  is 
less  risk,  and  the  grasses  keep  down  the  weeds  which  otherwise  are  apt 
to  overrun  the  sainfoin.  In  a  green  state  it  is  quite  free  from  the 
danger  of  blowing  cattle  (hoven),  and  when  made  into  hay  is  an  ad- 
mirable and  nutritious  food.  But  it  requires  great  care  in  drying  when 
made  into  hay. 

Mr.  Sinclair  states  that  the  produce  of  sainfoin  on  a  clayey  loam  with 
a  sandy  subsoil  is  greater  than  on  a  sandy  or  gravelly  soil  resting  upon 
clay. 

A  French  writer  says  that  sainfoin  can  not  accommodate  itself  to 
damp  soil,  which,  although  dry,  rests  upon  a  wet  subsoil.  It  delights  in 
dry  soil,  somewhat  gravelly,  and,  above  all,  calcareous.  It  flourishes 
upon  the  declivities  of  hills  where  water  can  not  remain,  and  in  light  soil 
where  its  powerful  roots  can  readily  penetrate.  But  although  surviving 
in  the  poorest  calcareous  soil,  like  clover  and  lucerne,  its  productive- 
ness is  always  relative  to  the  permVability  and  fertility  of  the  land.  It 
prefers  open,  sunny  places,  with  a  southern  or  eastern  exposure. 

Sainfoin  has  received  several  trials  in  this  country,  but  without  much 
success,  probably  from  the  experiments  having  been  made  upon  un- 
suitable soil.  We  can  not  expect  that  it  will  be  preferred  in  places 
where  clover  succeeds,  but  in  light  soils  and  in  regions  with  a  light 
rainfall  it  should  receive  a  thorough  trial.  A  recent  bulletin  of  the 
Iowa  Agricultural  College  gives  the  result  of  some /experiments  with 
this  plant  which  are  very  satisfactory.  Observations  there  made  indi- 
cate that  it  stands  early  freezing  quite  as  well  as  Kentucky  blue  grass. 
It  produces  at  the  rate  of  3  tons  of  dry  hay  per  acre.  It  deserves  trial 
in  Kansas,  Nebraska,  and  Colorado,     (Plate  95.) 

MEDICAGO. 

Medicago  sativa  (Alfalfa). 

This  plant  is  called  Lucerne,  medick,  Spanish  trefoil,  French  clover, 
Brazilian  clover,  and  Chilian  clover.  It  is  not  a  true  clover,  though  be- 
longing to  the  same  natural  family  as  the  clovers.  Alfalfa,  the  name  by 
which  it  is  commonly  known  in  this  country,  is  the  Spanish  name,  which 
came  into  use  here  from  the  fact  that  the  plant  was  introduced  into  culti- 
vation in  California  from  South  America  under  the  name  of  alfalfa,  or 
Brazilian  clover.  The  plant  had  previously  been  introduced  into  the 
Eastern  and  Southern  States,  but  attracted  little  attention  until  its 
remarkable  success  in  California.  In  Europe  it  is  generally  known  as 
Lucerne,  probably  from  the  canton  of  Lucerne,  in  Switzerland,  where 
it  was  largely  cultivated  at  an  early  day.  It  has  been  known  in  cultiva- 
tion from  very  ancient  times, and  was  introduced  from  Western  Asia  into 
Greece  about  500  B.  C.     It  is  now  largely  grown  in  southern  France, 


85 

and  to  a  considerable  extent  in  other  parts  of  Europe.  It  has  been  in- 
troduced into  several  of  tlie  countries  of  South  America,  and  on  the 
pampas  of  Buenos  Ayres  it  has  escaped  from  cultivation  and  grows  ex- 
tensively in  a  wild  state.  Though  known  tor  a  long  time  in  the  United 
•States,  alfalfa  is  not  yet  cultivated  to  the  extent  that  it  should  be. 

In  the  Southern  States  east  of  the  Mississippi  it  is  especially  desire- 
able  that  its  merits  should  be  better  known.  The  climate  of  that  sec- 
tion is  nearly  as  favorable  to  its  growth  as  that  of  southern  California, 
but  much  of  its  soil  less  suitable,  hence  reports  from  different  localities 
vary  somewhat  as  to  its  value. 

Climate. — Alfalfa  is  less  hardy  than  red  clover,  and  is  adapted  to  a 
milder  climate  ;  still,  it  has  stood  the  winter  safely  as  far  north  as  Ver- 
mont, New  York,  and  Michigan,  though  farther  west,  where  less  pro- 
tected by  snow,  it  winter  kills  more  or  less  even  as  far  south  as  Texas. 
The  young  plants  are  very  susceptible  to  frosts,  and  the  mature  plants, 
if  not  killed  by  the  cold  winters  of  the  Northern  States,  are  so  weakened 
that  they  endure  there  for  a  much  shorter  period  than  in  milder  cli- 
mates. A  cold  of  25  degrees  is  said  to  kill  the  tops,  but  in  the  Southern 
States  the  plant  quickly  recovers  from  the  effect  of  frost  and  grows  most 
of  the  winter.  In  the  Northern  States,  even  where  it  endured  the  win- 
ter, the  yield  is  so  much  less  than  at  the  South  that  it  has  little  or  no 
advantage  over  the  common  red  clover.  Farther  south,  however,  even 
where  both  may  be  grown,  alfalfa  is  often  preferred,  not  only  for  its 
larger  yield,  but  also  for  its  perennial  character.  Alfalfa  is  especially 
adapted  to  dry  climates,  and  withstands  drought  much  better  than  or- 
dinary clovers. 

Soil. — Although  alfalfa  improves  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  it  must  have 
a  rich  soil  to  start  with,  and  it  therefore  is  of  little  value  as  a  renovater 
of  worn-out  lands.  It  prefers  sandy  soils,  if  fertile.  The  failure  on 
sandy  soils  in  the  East  and  the  South  has  been  mainly  due  to  the  lack 
of  fertility  to  give  the  young  plants  a  good  start  and  enable  them  to 
become  deeply  rooted  before  the  advent  of  drought.  On  this  account  it 
usually  thrives  best  on  rich  bottom-lauds.  Lands  that  are  tenacious 
and  hold  water  are  not  adapted  to  its  culture  unless  well  drained.  Most 
of  the  lands  in  the  West  upon  which  it  is  grown  successfully  have  a 
permeable  subsoil.  When  the  soil  permits,  its  roots  penetrate  to  a  great 
depth.  Cases  have  frequently  been  observed  of  their  reaching  a  depth 
of  12  or  15  feet,  and  depths  of  more  than  20  feet  have  been  reported. 
Hence,  after  the  plant  is  established,  the  character  of  the  subsoil  is  of 
more  importance  than  that  of  the  surface. 

Culture. — Sow  at  any  time  that  the  ground  is  in  suitable  condition, 
and  when  there  will  be  time  for  the  plants  to  become  well  established 
before  they  are  subjected  either  to  drought  or  extreme  cold.  In  the 
Northern  States  the  month  of  May  will  be  about  the  right  time.  Far- 
ther south,  in  the  latitude  of  northern  Mississippi,  September  is  prob- 
ably the  best  month,  and  in  the  extreme  South,  or  in  the  warm  valleys 


86 

of  California,  any  time  will  answer  from  fall  until  spring.  The  soil 
should  be  thoroughly  prepared,  and  the  seed  sown  at  the  rate  of  15 
to  20  pounds  to  the  acre.  If  sown  broadcast,  about  the  latter  quan- 
tity will  be  required;  if  in  drills,  the  former  amount  will  be  sufficient. 
If  the  raising  of  seed  is  the  main  object,  12  or  14  pounds  to  the  acre 
will  give  the  best  results,  as  the  plants  will  be  more  vigorous  and  yield 
more  seed,  though  they  will  be  coarser  and  less  desirable  for  feed. 

Drill-culture  gives  the  best  results,  especially  if  the  soil  be  dry  or 
weedy.  The  drills  may  be  12  to  18  inches  apart  according  to  the  tool 
to  be  employed  in  cultivation.  The  seed,  if  sown  broadcast,  may  be  sown 
alone  or  with  grain,  but  it  generally  gives  the  best  results  when  sown 
alone.  It  is  often  sown  with  oats  with  good  results,  but  in  a  wet  season 
it  is  liable  to  be  smothered  out  unless  the  grain  is  sown  quite  thin. 
After  the  first  year  the  harrow  may  be  employed  to  advantage,  and 
even  a  narrow  plow,  of  such  form  as  will  not  cut  the  roots  too  severely, 
is  sometimes  used  with  good  effect,  especially  where  the  planting  is  in 
rows.  In  all  cases  where  weeds  are  inclined  to  appear  it  is  desirable  to 
give  some  kind  of  cultivation  every  year.  This  is  not  so  important  where 
the  plant  is  irrigated  as  elsewhere.  In  much  of  the  country  reaching 
from  Texas  to  thePacific,  irrigation  is  only  essential  the  first  year,  or  un- 
til the  roots  have  penetrated  deeply  into  the  soil,  though  the  crop  is 
greatly  increased  by  an  abundant  supply  of  moisture  at  all  times.  In 
parts  of  California  and  adjoining  States  alfalfa  is  grown  only  by  irriga- 
tion, and  this  must  sometimes  be  resorted  to,  even  when  not  essen- 
tial for  the  growth  of  the  crop,  in  order  to  kill  the  gophers,  which  are 
liable  to  destroy  the  plants  by  eating  off  the  roots  a  few  inches  below 
the  surface.  Immediate  irrigation  will  also  prevent  many  of  the  plants 
so  eaten  off  from  dying. 

Alfalfa  should  be  neither  mowed  nor  pastured  until  it  has  made  a 
considerable  growth  and  becomes  well  established. 

Harvesting,  Feeding,  etc. — Alfalfa  is  perhaps  best  known  in  most  lo- 
calities as  a  soiling  plant.  For  this  purpose  it  has  scarcely  a  superior. 
It  may  be  cut  repeatedly  during  the  season,  furnishing  a  large  amount 
of  nutritious  forage,  which  is  relished  by  all  kinds  of  stock.  It  is  said 
to  be  less  liable  than  clover  to  cause  slobbers  in  horses.  There  is  some 
danger,  however,  especially  to  cattle,  in  feeding  it  while  wet  or  very  suc- 
culent, of  its  causing  bloat  or  hoven.  On  this  account  it  is  a  good  plan 
to  feed  it  in  the  green  state  in  connection  with  straw  or  hay,  or  to  let  it 
lie  several  hours  to  become  partially  wilted  before  being  fed. 

It  is  when  used  as  pasture  that  the  greatest  danger  occurs  in  the 
use  of  alfalfa.  Many  have  used  it  for  years,  both  for  soiling  and  as 
pasture,  without  any  injurious  results,  but  numerous  instances  have 
been  reported  where  cattle  have  bloated  and  died  from  eating  too  freely 
of  it  when  succulent  or  wet.  In  some  instances  cattle  have  been  kept 
upon  it  from  the  time  it  started  in  spring  until  June  or  July,  with  no 
evil  results,  and  then,  when  the  growth  has  become  very  rank  or  been 


87 

wet  with  dew  or  rain,  they  have  been  taken  with  bloat.  The  danger  is 
greater,  as  Is  well  known,  when  cattle  arc  suddenly  turned  into  a  rank 
growth  and  allowed  to  eat  all  they  will.  It  cattle  are  hungry  or  have 
not  been  accustomed  to  green  food  they  should  not  be  allowed  in  such 
a  pasture  more  than  half  or  three-quarters  of  an  hour,  in  the  dry  le- 
gions of  the  West  there  is  less  danger  in  the  use  of  alfalfa  for  pasture 
than  elsewhere,  and  it  is  largely  used  there  tor  that  purpose,  especially 
in  the  fall  after  a  crop  or  two  of  hay  has  been  cut.  There  is  consid- 
erable danger,  however,  of  the  plant  becoming  killed  out  by  close  or 
continued  pasturing,  as  it  does  not  stand  grazing  as  well  as  the  ordi- 
nary grasses  and  clovers.  For  hay,  the  cutting  should  be  done  as  soon 
as  the  blossoms  appear,  otherwise  it  becomes  hard  and  woody.  Con- 
siderable care  is  required  to  cure  it  properly  and  prevent  the  loss  of  the 
leaves  in  drying.  The  yield  is  so  large  and  the  plant  so  succulent  at 
the  time  that  it  must  be  cut,  that  unless  there  is  good  weather  it  is  dif- 
ficult to  cure ;  on  this  account  it  is  used  less  for  hay,  except  in  dry  cli- 
mates, than  it  otherwise  would  be.  The  increase  in  the  cultivation  of 
alfalfa  has  created  a  good  demand  forthe  seed, which  has  thus  become 
one  of  the  most  important  items  of  profit  in  its  cultivation.  For  clean- 
ing the  seeds,  F.  C.  Clark,  of  Alila,  Tulare  County,  Cal.,    says: 

In  this  part  of  the  State  the  ordinary  grain-thrasher  is  need.  Some  extra  screens 
are  used  and  a  few  changes  made  in  the  arrangement  of  the  cylinder  and  concave 
teeth.  It  is  the  opinion  of  some  of  the  experienced  alfalfa  thrashers  that  a  machine 
combining  the  hulling  process  and  some  of  the  machinery  of  the  ordinary  thrasher 
would  do  better  work. 

The  seed  is  usually  taken  from  the  second  crop,  and  the  yield  is  greater  than  that 
from  red  clover,  frequently  amounting  to  10  or  more  bushels  per  acre. 

The  following  reports  are  given  from  persons  who  have  grown  al- 
falfa in  various  parts  of  the  country  : 
J.  R.  Page,  professor  of  agriculture,  etc.,  University  of  Virginia: 

I  have  cultivated  alfalfa  for  forty  years,  both  in  the  tide-water  and  Piedmont 
regions  of  Virginia,  and  I  regard  it  as  the  most  valuable  forage  plant  the  farmer  can 
cultivate  for  soiling.  It  is  ready  to  be  mowed  by  the  1st  of  May  and  may  be  cut 
three  or  four  times  during  the  season.*"  Grazing  kills  it  out.  It  should  be  top-dressed 
with  manure  every  fall  and  plastered  in  the  spring  and  after  every  mowing. 

Thomas  S.  Stadden,  Clarke  County,  Y<\. : 

Alfalfa  is  grown  here  to  a  limited  extent.  It  does  well  in  favorable  localities,  but 
is  hard  to  get  set.     It  lasts  four  to  six  years. 

H.  C.  Parrot,  Kinston,  N.  C. : 

Alfalfa  is  adapted  to  rich,  open  soils  in  all  the  Southern  States.  It  is  excellent 
feed  either  green  or  cured.  It  should  be  sown  in  drills  18  inches  apart  and  cultivated 
the  lirst  year.  After  it  is  well  rooted  it  will  stand  drought  well  and  crowd  every- 
thing else  out.     It  will  last  from  eight  to  sixteen  years,  according  to  soil  and  location. 

J.  G.  Knapp,  United  States  statistical  agent,  Limona,  southern 
Florida : 

Many  persons  in  Florida;  have  exxierimcnted  with  this  plant,  so  valuable  in  other 
regions,  but  nearly  all  have  failed.     Sometimes  a  plant  which  has  come  up  in  the 


88 

fall  ami  survived  the  winter  has  bloomed,  but  no  roots  have  lived  through  the  wet, 
warm  months  of  summer.  I  remember  that  in  New  Mexico,  whenever  it  was  desir- 
able to  destroy  the  alfalfa,  in  order  to  plow  the  ground,  the  surface  was  covered  with 
water  daily  for  two  weeks  daring  the  heat  of  summer.  The  United  States  consul 
at  Lambayeque,  Peru,  states  (United  States  Agricultural  Report,  1877,  p.  544)  that 
it  will  not  bear  water,  an  abundant  irrigation  or  inundation  causing  speedy  death  to 
the  plant.  The  result  in  this  country  has  been  the  same.  Alfalfa  has  invariably 
perished  during  the  rainy  months.     All  the  clovers  are  affected  the  same  way. 

Mr.  Knapp  incloses  a  letter  from  Dr.  B.  J.  Taliaferro,  of  Maitland, 
Orange  County,  the  only  person  in  bis  knowledge  who  has  been  suc- 
cessful in  growing  alfalfa  in  that  region. 

Dr.  Taliaferro  says  : 

There  is  no  doubt  but  that  alfalfa  can  be  successfully  grown  in  south  Florida.  My 
old  patch  is  now  twelve  months  old,  and  has  been  cut  five  times.  I  am  so  pleased 
with  it  that  I  have  just  put  in  5  acres  more.  The  great  difficulty  is  getting  a 
good  stand.  If  the  ground  is  not  just  right  the  seed  will  fail.  I  have  failed  several 
times  by  sowing  when  the  sun  was  too  hot  or  not  hot  enough,  or  when  the  land  was 
not  sufficiently  moist.  From  my  short  experience  I  think  September  is  the  best  month 
in  which  to  plant.  If  we  plant  early  in  the  spring  or  summer  it  is  almost  impossible 
to  keep  the  crab  grass  from  taking  it.  I  sow  in  drills  1(5  or  18  inches  apart,  and  wait 
for  a  warm,  moist  day  for  sowing.  The  plant  is  very  delicate  at  first,  and  must  be  kept 
clean  from  grass  and  weeds.  I  shall  try  a  small  piece  broadcast  this  fall,  but  doubt 
whether  it  will  prove  a  success,  as  crab  grass  is  its  greatest  enemy  in  my  portion  of 
Florida.  The  piece  I  have  growing  is  on  high,  dry,  pine  land,  such  as  would  be  suit- 
able for  orange-growing.  Alfalfa,  having  a  very  long  tap-root,  would  not  do  on 
low  land.  It  is  very  necessary  to  prepare  the  land  thoroughly.  My  plan  is  as  fol- 
lows: After  getting  the  land  clean  of  all  stumps,  rubbish,  etc.,  I  plow  it  deeply  with 
a  two-horse  turning-plow,  then  harrow  and  hand-rake.  Early  in  spring  I  put  on  a 
light  dressing  of  cotton-seed  meal,  and  sow  down  in  cow  peas  broadcast,  and  when 
the  vines  are  in  full  bearing  I  turn  them  under  with  a  three-horse  plow,  and  as  soon 
thereafter  as  possible  harrow  deeply,  and  broadcast  again  with  some  good  fertilizer 
(I  prefer  cotton-seed  meal,  bone  meal,  and  potash),  harrowing  it  in  well  with  a  spring- 
tooth  harrow.  It  would  be  well  to  repeat  the  harrowing  as  often  as  possible  before 
sowing.  About  the  1st  or  middle  of  September  hand-rake  perfectly  smooth,  and  put 
in  the  seed  with  a  seed-drill,  about  G  pounds  per  acre.  Keep  clean  of  weeds  and 
crab  grass,  and  cut  when  in  bloom.  A  top-dressing  of  land  plaster  after  the  first 
cutting  will  prove  very  beneficial.  I  have  experimented  with  a  number  of  forage 
plants,  but  failed,  with  all  except  millo  maize  until  I  tried  alfalfa. 

J.  S.  Newman,  Director  Experiment  Station,  Auburn,  Ala. : 

I  have  had  it  fourteen  years  in  profitable  growth  from  oue  seeding,  and  have  seen 
it  in  Gordon  County,  Ga.,  twenty-five  years  old,  and  still  in  vigorous  and  profit- 
able growth.  If  used  for  hay  it  must  be  cut  before  it  blossoms,  or  the  stems  become 
too  woody.  Like  other  leguminous  plants  it  requires  especial  care  in  curing,  to  pre- 
vent the  loss  of  its  leaves.  It  may  be  cut  from  three  to  five  times  in  one  season,  ac- 
cording to  the  frequency  of  rains.  It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  because  of  its  long 
tap-root  it  is  not  seriously  affected  by  drought.  It  thrives  well  upon  all  classes  of 
lands,  if  fertile  and  well  drained. 

Clarke  Lewis,  Cliftonville,  Mass. : 

It  grows  readily  in  this  State  on  poor,  sandy  soil,  but  best  on  sand  loam.  It  will 
bear  cutting  year  after  year  without  new  seeding,  if  not  too  heavily  grazed.  As  a 
permanent  soiling  plant  it  has  no  superior.  It  must  be  cut  early,  when  first  coming 
into  blossom;  if  cut  later  it  becomes  woody  and  makes  poor  hay.  Its  introduction 
has  been  confined,  to  a  few  localities. 


89 
Prof.  James  Troop,  La  Fayette,  I  ml. : 

It  is  naturalized  here,  but  little  cultivated.  It  is  perfectly  hardy  on  our  black, 
sandy  loam,  but  yields  no  more  than  Timothy  or  clover.  It  will  not  last  here  in  or 
than  three  or  four  years. 

Leonard  A.  Heil,  of  the  Texas  Live  Stoek  Journal,  San  Antonio, 
Tex.: 

Alfalfa  has  been  successfully  raised  in  this  locality  only  by  irrigation,  which  is  practi- 
cable to  but  a  limited  extent.  There  are  those  who  claim  that  it  can  l>c  successfully 
grown  with  only  the  natural  rains,  but  after  careful  investigation  I  seriously  doubt 
its  practicability. 

James  Perry,  Whitesborongh,  northeastern  Texas : 

Alfalfa  is  a  fair  success  in  our  black,  waxy  soil,  and  can  be  cut  twice  a  year,  yield- 
ing l'to  3  tons  at  a  cutting.  Broadcast  sowing  is  the  usual  method,  and  seems 
to  be  sufficient  on  clean  laud.  It  stands  the  drought  well  and  the  freeze  of  ordinary 
wiuters.  Three  years  ago,  however,  I  had  7  acres  badly  killed  by  "spewing  up"  in 
winter,  but  the  scattering  plants  that  remained  are  doing  well. 

C.  A.  Graves,  Fiskville,  central  Texas : 

It  is  cultivated  here  only  to  a  small  extent.  It  dies  out  in  spots,  just  as  •cotton, 
sweet  potatoes,  and  some  other  vegetables  do,  and  apparently  for  the  same  unknown 
reason.  In  some  localities,  the  spots  where  it  dies  out  cover  one-fourth  of  the  ground. 
The  uncertainty  of  moisture  on  and  near  the  surface  for  any  length  of  time,  owing 
to  hot  suns  and  drying  winds,  makes  the  catch  from  all  seeds  that  germinate  near 
the  surface  uncertain. 

Dr.  E.  P.  Stiles,  Austin,  Tex.,  says: 

Alfalfa  is  not  permanent  here.  For  two  or  three  years  it  will  produce  good,  crops, 
and  theu  it  begins  to  die  out  in  circular  patches.  The  spots  increase  in  size  until  in 
a  year  or  two  they  become  confluent.  Cotton  plants  sometimes  die  in  the  same  way, 
and  apple-trees  put  into  such  soil  are  subject  to  a  sudden  blight.  I  have  uQver  known 
alfalfa  to  be  killed  by  eitber  cold  or  drought,  but  its  growth  is  very  slight  in  very 
dry  soil.  In  Green  County  it  is  grown  quite  successfully  under  irrigation,  but  it  dies 
in  some  localities  there  the  same  as  here. 

J.  E.  Willett,  Farmington,  northwestern  New  Mexico: 

Alfalfa  grows  finely  here,  and  yields  so  enormously  that  we  want  nothing  better. 
We  cut  it  four  times  during  the  season,  obtaining  a  ton  and  a  half  of  hay  at  each  cut- 
ting. We  raise  nothing  here  except  by  irrigation.  As  soon  as  the  crop  is  taken  oil', 
we  turn  on  the  water  in  many  places  at  once  and  flood  the  land  for  several  days,  for 
Alfalfa  requires  an  abundance  of  water,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  land  which 
is  low  and  wet  will  not  answer.  It  flourishes  on  rock  uplands  that  are  very  poor,  but 
must  have  plenty  of  water  at  the  right  time.  The  soil  is  fdled  with  large,  long  roots, 
reaching  as  deep  as  20  feet. 

George  H.  Jones,  Naranjos,  northwestern  New  Mexico : 

It  grows  well  without  irrigation  after  the  second  or  third  year  on  any  ordinary 
soil,  and  yields  very  satisfactory  results  where  properly  put  in.  I  know  one  piece 
which  has  stood  eight  years  and  still  yields  well. 

A.  L.  Siler,  Eanch,  Utah  : 

I  know  Lucerne  patches  that  have  stood  for  twenty-four  years,  and  they  are  as 
productive  as  when  first  planted.  It  does  well  with  irrigation  on  any  porous  soil, 
yielding  4  to  6  tons  per  acre.    Without  irrigation  it  would  produce  nothing. 


90 
William  Leam an,  Cannonsvillo,  Utah: 

Lucerne  dees  very  well  in  this  mountain  country,  where  there  is  very  little  rain, 
and  produces  from  2  to  2£  tons  per  acre,  and  makes  from  three  to  four  crops  per  year, 
but  I  am  well  satisfied  that  it  will  not  stand  much  wet  weather,  us  excessive  water- 
ing kills  it  here,  and  water  running  over  it  in  the  winter  and  forming  ice  over  it 
kills  it. 

Prof.  A.  E.  Blount,  Fort  Collins,  Colo. : 

Our  soil  is  mostly  sandy  loam  and  clay  loam,  gray,  and  to  all  appearances  very 
poor.  It  is  dry,  hard,  and  destitute  of  black  soil,  except  in  low,  marshy  places  and 
on  the  streams.  On  this  soil,  which  has  never  been  leached  or  deprived  of  its  fertil- 
ity by  moisture,  we  sow  alfalfa  at  the  rate  of  20  pounds  to  the  acre.  If  kept  well 
irrigated,  two  crops  can  be  taken  the  same  season  that  the  seed  is  sown,  yielding  as 
high  as  3  or  4  tons  per  acre.  The  second  season,  if  a  good  stand  was  secured,  three 
cuttings  are  made,  yielding  as  high  in  some  localities  as  7  tons.  Our  largest  yields 
come  from  those  farms  where  water  is  applied  immediately  after  each  cutting. 
Among  the  best  farmers  4  tons  to  the  acre  is  a  very  small  average.  I  have  known  9 
tons  to  be  taken  from  an  acre  where  the  most  careful  attention  was  given.  When 
once  rooted  it  is  next  to  impossible  to  eradicate  or  kill  the  plant.  One  man  plowed 
up  a  piece  and  sowed  it  to  oats,  and  after  having  thrashed  out  42  bushels  of  oats  per 
acre  he  cut  3  tons  of  alfalfa  hay  per  acre  from  the  same  land.  Some  have  raised 
wheat,  corn,  and  potatoes  with  excellent  success,  after  turning  under  a  crop  of  alfalfa, 
without  in  any  way  interfering  with  the  stand  of  the  latter  the  next  year. 

F.  W.  Sweetser,  Winnemucca,  Kev.: 

Alfalfa  is  cultivated  quite  extensively  in  several  parts  of  the  State.  It  does  best 
in  a  dark  loam.  It  is  hardy  and  yields,  with  irrigation,  about  5  tons  per  acre.  One 
season  without  irrigation  will  kill  it. 

O.  P.  Wright,  Teinescal,  San  Bernardino  County,  Cal.: 

Alfalfa  is  cut  from  one  to  six  times  per  year.  The  yield  when  good  is  as  follows  : 
First  cutting,  2  tons  of  not  very  good  hay ;  second  cutting,  3  tons  of  good  hay  ;  third 
cutting,  2-\  tons  of  good  hay;  fourth  cutting,  2^  tons  of  good  hay  ;  fifth  cutting,  1  ton 
of  good  hay.  If  the  land  is  v.ry  dry  there  may  be  but  one  cutting,  the  roots  living, 
but  the  tops  apparently  dead.     If  it  is  very  dry  the  roots  die  also. 

Pasturing  in  the  latter  part  of  summer  does  not  injure  it  much,  but  in  winter  and 
spring,  when  annual  plants  are  growing,  it  soon  kills  it.  A  good  stand  can  not  be 
obtained  without  mowing,  for  worthless  weeds  would  otherwise  choke  it  out.  The 
plants  increase  in  strength  for  three  years. 

E.  G.  Jiulsou,  Lugonia,  San  Bernardino  County,  Cal.: 

Alfalfa  is  fairly  hardy,  but  it  can  not  stand  extreme  cold.  On  dry  lands  it  cannot 
be  grown  without  irrigation.  It  can  be  subdued  by  repeated  plowings  or  keeping 
away  water. 

William  Schulz,  Anaheim,  Los  Angeles  County,  Cal.: 

Alfalfa  fails  without  irrigation  on  account  of  the  gophers,  which  eat  off  the  roots  a 
few  inches  below  the  surface.     It  is  one  of  the  best  forage  plants  we  have. 

William  C.  Cusick,  Union,  Oregon  : 

Alfalfa  is  not  extensively  grown  in  this  locality.  It  is  hardy  only  at  the  lowest  al- 
titudes, or  where  snow  falls  deeply.  It  prefers  dry,  sandy  soils  that  can  be  irrigated, 
on  such  lauds  yielding  3  to  4  tons  per  acre.  Without  irrigation  it  is  hardly  worth 
cutting.     This  applies  to  a  portion  of  the  State  east  of  the  Cascade  Mountains. 


91 

A  few  extracts  from  various  agricultural  papers  and  other  publications 
are  here  inserted. 

Southern  Live  Stock  Journal : 

The  value  of  alfalfa  in  California  is  inestimable.  The  plant  is  eminently  adapted 
to  the  soil  and  climate  of  that  State.  It  is  wonderfully  productive.  It  is  grown  with 
success  in  Colorado  and  some  of  the  Territories,  and  now  and  then  an  isolated  reporl 
comes  up  from  the  great  State  of  Texas  that  it  is  fulfilling  the  highest  hopes  of  those 
who  have  given  it,  their  attention.  Here  and  there  from  the  Carol inas,  Georgia, 
Florida,  Mississippi,  Alabama,  and  Louisiana  come  favorable  reports,  bnt  these  in- 
stances are  few  and  far  between.  The  fact  is,  alfalfa  has  never  yet  bad  a  fair  tri;il 
in  Southern  agriculture.  Our  people,  as  a  people,  have  never  appreciated  its  value 
as  a  worthy  addition  to  southern  grasses  and7  forage  plants. 

The  failures  that  have  been  made  with  this  plant  in  the  South  are  doubtless  due  to 
the  fact  that  (1)  the  weeds  are  allowed  to  choke  it  out  the  first  year,  or  the  stock  to 
graze  it  too  closely  and  bite  off  the  crowns  of  the  plants  before  the  roots  were  firmly 
established;  (2)  the  land  was  not  rich  enough  — it  requires  very  rich  land  ;  (3)  that 
the  land  was  not  suitable  to  its  growth,  or  that  it  held  too  much  water  and  ought  to 
have  been  underdrained. 

Tulare  County  (California)  Kegister: 

Alfalfa  is  the  foundation  of  prosperity  in  Tulare  County.  It  begins  to  yield  the 
very  year  it  is  sown,  and  increases  its  yield  many  years  afterward.  It  will  grow 
where  nothing  else  will,  and  sends  its  roots  deep  down  into  the  moist  strata  which 
underlie  the  top  soil  all  over  the  country.  Alfalfa  not  only  furnishes  food  lor  1, 
cattle,  and  sheep,  but  hogs  and  poultry  thrive  upon  it  as  upon  nothing  else  until  fat- 
tening time  comes,  when  a  little  Egyptian  or  Indian  corn  must  be  fed  to  make  the 
llesh  solid.  In  Tulare,  alfalfa  yields  from  (5  to  10  tons  of  hay  per  acre  each  slim- 
mer, besides  supplying  good  pasturage  the  rest  of  the  season  ;  when  it  goes  to  Beed 
it  often  yields  a  return  of  $40  to  ,$G0  per  acre  in  seed  alone,  besides  yielding  nearly  as 
valuable  a  hay  crop  as  when  not  permitted  to  go  to  seed.  Upon  alfalfa  and  stock, 
Tulare  is  building  a  great  and  assured  prosperity. 

George  Tyng,  in  Florida  Dispatch : 

Sow  in  any  month  when  the  ground  is  moist  and  at  least  four  to  six  weeks  before 
heavy  frost  or  before  the  season  of  heat  and  drought.  Less  seed  will  bo  required  if 
it  is  soaked  before  sowing.  Put  the  seed  into  any  convenient  vessel  and  cover  with 
water,  not  boiling  but  too  hot  to  be  comfortable  to  the  hand,  and  keep  in  a  warm 
place  for  eighteen  to  twenty-four  hours,  until  the  seeds  swell  enough  to  partially 
rupture  their  dark  hulls.  When  the  seeds  are  ready  for  sowing  drain  oil*  all  the 
water  through  a  sieve  or  bag  and  dry  the  seeds  with  cotton-seed  meal,  land  plaster, 
or  other  material,  increasing  the  bulk  to  a  bushel  and  a  half  or  two  bushels  for  every 
20  pounds.  If  the  ground  be  dry,  cultivate  just  before  sowing  and  sow  in  the  after- 
noon. Cover  as  soon  as  possible,  and  guard  against  covering  too  deeply.  The  best 
convenient  thing  for  this  purpose  is  a  light  drag  made  of  the  bushy  branches  of 
trees. 

Prof.  E.  W.  Hilgard,  in  the  Report  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture 
for  1878,  page  41)0,  says  : 

Undoubtedly  the  most  valuable  result  of  the  search  after  forage  crops  adapted  to 
the  California  climate  is  the  introduction  of  the  culture  of  alfalfa,  this  being  the 
name  commonly  applied  to  the  variety  of  Lucerne  that  was  introduced  into  Cali- 
fornia from  Chili  early  iu  her  history,  differing  from  the  European  plants  merely  in 
that  it  has  a  tendency  to  taller  growth  and  deeper  roots.  The  latter  habit,  doubt- 
less acquired  in  the  dry  climate  of  Chili,  is  of  course  especially  valuable  in  Cali- 
fornia, as  it  enables  the  plant  to  stand  a  drought  so  protracted  as  to  kill  out  even 


92 

more  resistant  plants  than  red  clover.  As  .1  substitute  for  the  latter  it  is  difficult  to 
overestimate  the  importance  of  alfalfa  i«>  California  agriculture,  which  will  be  more 
ami  more  recognized  aa  a  regular  system  of  rotation  becomes  a  part  of  the  general 
practice.  At  tirst  alfalfa  was  used  almost  exclusively  for  pasture  and  green-soiling 
purposes,  but  daring  the  last  three  or  four  years  alfalfa  hay  has  become  a  regular 
article  in  the  general  market,  occasional  objections  to  its  use  being  the  result  of 
want  of  practice  in  curing.  On  the  irrigated  lands  of  Kern,  Fresno,  and  Tulare 
Counties  three  and  even  four  cuts  of  forage,  aggregating  to  something  like  12  to  14 
tons  per  .acre,  have  frequently  been  made.  As  the  most  available  green  forage  during 
the  slimmer,  alfalfa  has  become  an  invaluable  adjunct  to  all  dairy  and  stock  farming 
wherever  the  soil  can,  during  the  dry  season,  supply  any  moisture  within  'I  or  3  feet 
of  the  surface. 

Peter  Henderson,  in  an  article  on  alfalfa  in  the  Report  of  the  De- 
partment of  Agriculture  for  1884,  page  567,  says: 

Mr.  William  Crozier,  of  Northport,  Long  Island,  one  of  the  best-known  farmers  and 
stock-breeders  in  the  vicinity  of  New  York,  says  he  has  long  considered  alfalfa  one 
of  the  best  forage  crops.  He  used  it  always  to  feed  his  milch  cows  and  breeding 
ewes,  particularly  in  preparing  them  for  exhibition  at  fairs,  where  he  is  known  to  be 
a  most  successful  competitor  :  and  he  always  takes  along  sufficient  alfalfa  hay  to  feed 
them  on  while  there.  Mr.  Crozier's  system  of  culture  is  broadcast,  and  he  uses  some 
15  or  16  pounds  of  seed  to  the  acre,  but  his  laud  is  usually  clear  and  in  a  high  state 
of  cultivation,  which  enables  him  to  adopt  the  broadcast  plan ;  but  on  an  average 
laud  it  will  be  found  that  the  plan  of  sowing  in  drills  would  be  the  best.  Mr.  Cro- 
zier's crop  the  second  year  averages  IS  tons,  green,  to  the  acre,  and  about  6  tons 
when  dried  as  bay.  For  this  section,  the  latitude  of  New  York,  lie  finds  that  the 
best  date  for  sowing  is  the  first  week  in  May ;  a  good  cutting  can  theu  be  had  in 
September.  The  next  season  a  full  crop  is  obtained  when  it  is  cut,  if  green,  three  or 
four  times.  If  to  be  used  for  hay  it  is  cut  in  the  condition  of  ordinary  red  clover — in 
blossom;  it  theu  makes,  after  that,  two  green  crops  if  cut.  Sometimes  the  last  one, 
instead  of  being  cut,  is  fed  on  the  ground  by  sheep  and  cattle. 

(Plate  96.) 


Medicago  denticulata  (Bur  Clover). 

This  is  a  native  of  the  Mediterranean  region,  which  has  become  nat- 
uralized in  most  warm  countries.  It  was  early  introduced  into  Cali- 
fornia and  has  become  widely  distributed  in  that  State,  where  it  is  con- 
sidered of  great  value. 

It  is  not  of  first  quality  either  as  pasture  or  hay,  but  coming  at  a  time 
of  year  when  other  feed  is  scarce,  and  often  growing  where  little  else 
will,  it  is  eaten  by  all  kinds  of  stock.  The  pods,  or  burs,  are  especially 
sought  after  in  the  dry  condition,  as  they  remain  good  until  spoiled  by 
rains.  Although  this  plant  does  not  withstand  drought  as  well  as  many 
others,  it  is  enabled  to  grow  on  dry  soils  in  climates  having  pro- 
longed drought  from  its  making  its  growth  daring  the  rainy  season. 
Sown  early  in  autumn  in  the  sections  to  which  it  is  adapted,  it  grows 
during  the  winter  and  ripens  the  following  spring  or  early  summer.  It 
has  been  introduced  from  California  into  the  Southern  States,  where  it 
is  generally  highly  regarded  by  those  who  have  tried  it,  both  for  graz- 
ing and  as  a  renovator  of  the  soil.  Being  an  annual,  and  ripening 
early,  other  crops  may  be  grown  on  the  same  land  during  the  summer 


93 

without  interfering  with  the  next  growth  of  the  clover.  The  clover  is 
usually  allowed  to  reseed  itself.     But  little  of  the  seed  is  sold  iu  the 

market,  and  it  is  usually  sown   by  tanners  without   being  cleared   from 
the  burs,  or  pods.     One  serious  objection  to  the  plant  is  the  liability  of 
the  burs  to  infest  the  wool  of  sheep. 
There  is  another  species,  called  spotted  medick  (Medicago  maculata), 

which  is  often  confused  with  this,  and  is  probably  the  more  common 
east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  but  the  two  are  much  alike  and  of  about 
the  same  agricultural  value. 

Only  Medicago  denticulata  is  mentioned  by  Professor  Watson  in  his 
Botany  of  California  as  being  found  in  that  State. 

J.  W.  Alesworth,  Slack  Canyon,  Monterey  County,  Cal. : 

On  the  coast,  where  the  climate  is  moist,  bar  clover  makes  a  rank  growth  and  is 
considered  good  feed  late  in  the  season.  My  place  being  40  miles  from  tin 
and  1,410  feet  in  altitude  it  only  grows  here  to  a  limited  extent,  though  it  is  gradually 
extending.  When  I  came  to  this  place,  in  1870,  there  was  none  here.  Bur  clover  is 
good,  rich  feed,  but  is  not  sought  after  by  stock  until  the  other  clovers  and  altilaria 
are  gone. 

Daniel  Griswold,  Westminster,  Los  Angeles  County,  Cal. : 

It  is  grown  in  all  the  lower  valleys  of  California  wherever  the  land  is  not  very 
salty,  but  scarcely  any  is  found  in  the  high  valleys.  It  grows  large  and  falls  down 
and  curls  around  so  that  it  is  very  difficult  to  mow,  but  all  stock  eat  it  on  the  ground, 
green  or  dry.     The  seed  is  never  saved,  though  it  is  produced  abundantly. 

O.  F.  Wright,  Temescal,  San  Bernardino  County,  Cal. : 

It  grows  here  abundantly  on  high  lands,  with  alfilaria.  These  are  the  only  plants 
on  such  lands  that  cattle  will  eat.  They  are  never  killed  by  cold  here,  but  die  when 
dry  weather  comes.  Stock  pick  on  the  bur  clover  while  growing  (from  January  to 
June),  and  after  it  dies  they  hunt  for  the  burs  which  are  on  the  ground,  and  in  their 
efforts  to  get  them  they  roll  the  old  dry  stems  into  rolls  often  as  big  as  windrows  of 
hay. 

S.  H.  McGinnes,  of  Belmont,  Tex. : 

The  California  bur  clover  does  well  here,  making  good  hay  and  pasture.  It  comes 
up  in  October  and  ripens  in  May.  It  takes  but  very  few  bunches  to  produce  a  bushel 
of  seeds  (burs)  and  it  only  has  to  be  planted  once.  Horses  and  hogs  do  well  upon  the 
burs  after  they  ripen  and  fall  off. 

Edwin  C.  Beed,  Meridian,  Miss. : 

Bur  clover  has  been  grown  here  to  a  limited  extent,  and  a  few  who  have  grown  it 
twelve  or  fifteen  years  find  it  all  that  could  be  desired  for  winter  and  spring  past- 
ure. All  stock  eat  it  freely  when  they  acquire  a  taste  for  it,  and  sheep  and  hogs  eat 
the  burs  left  on  the  ground.  The  plant  reseeds  itself,  but  the  ground  should  be  plowed 
and  harrowed  in  August  to  secure  an  early  winter  pasture.  It  matures  the  1st  of 
June,  after  which  peas  may  be  broadcasted  on  the  same  land,  when  it  will  require  no 
fall  plowing.  On  rich  lands  it  sometimes  seeds  in  Bermuda  beds,  affording  both  win- 
ter and  summer  grazing.  I  have  grown  vines  Gi  feetlong,  hip  high,  and  as  thick  as 
it  could  stand.  I  prize  it  above  all  other  winter  pastures.  It  is  admirably  adapted  to 
the  Eocene  formation,  where  red  clover  does  not  succeed,  and  it  is  far  better  if  it 
did,  as  bur  clover  is  a  winter  plant. 


94 

J.  S.  Newman,  Director  Experiment  Station,  Agricultural  and  Me- 
chanical College,  Auburn,  Ala.  : 

First  introduced  into  the  cotton  States,  as  Far  as  I  know,  by  the  late  Bishop  George 
Pierce,  from  California,  about  1867,  and  planted  at  his  home  in  Hancock  County.  Ga. 
It  lias  since  become  quite  popular  in  some  localities. 

(Plate  07.) 

DESMODIUM. 

Desmodiuin  is  a  genus  belonging-  to  the  same  family  as  the  pea  and 
clover,  and  like  them  is  rich  in  nutritious  material.  There  are  about 
forty  species  native  in  the  United  States,  many  of  them  hard  and 
woody,  but  several  of  them  furnishing  valuable  woods-pasture  to  wild 
and  domestic  animals.  These  are  often  called  beggar-tick,  beggar-lice, 
beggar- weed,  or  tick-weed,  from  the  tendency  of  the  seed-pods  to  cling 
to  the  clothing  of  persons  or  the  hair  of  animals.  The  same  or  similar 
names,  however,  are  applied  to  other  plants. 

The,  species  of  perhaps  the  most  importance  is  Desmodium  tortuosum, 
which  is  confined  to  Florida  or  the  vicinity  of  the  Gulf  coast.  Seeds 
of  this  species  were  distributed  by  the  Department  of  Agriculture  in 
1879,  under  the  name  of  Desmodium  molle,  and  a  number  of  favorable 
reports  have  been  received  from  those  who  have  tried  it  in  the  southern 
portion  of  the  Gulf  States.  It  is  valued  most  as  a  renovating  crop  for 
lands  where  clover  can  not  be  successfully  grown,  It  is  also  of  con- 
siderable value  as  pasture,  and  has  sometimes  been  used  for  hay. 

J.  G.  Knapp,  Limona,  Fla. : 

Few  forage  plants  bear  a  better  reputation  here  than  Desmodium  molle  (tortuosum), 
commonly  known  as  beggar-weed.  Horses  prefer  it  to  any  other  growing  plant.  It 
comes  as  a  volunteer  in  fields  planted  with  other  crops.  "When  the  stalks  are  ISO 
or  40  inches  high  it  may  be  cut  for  hay.  and  as  many  as  2  tons  secured  from  an 
acre.  The  stubble  will  put  forth  new  shoots  and  mature  sufficient  seed  to  restock 
the  field.  It  will  thrive  on  the  poorest  sandy  soil,  and  in  a  few  years,  if  turned  under 
wheu  matured,  will  render  them  rich  and  productive. 

J.  C.  Xeal,  Archer,  Fla. : 

It  is  especially  valuable  to  Florida,  as  it  enriches  the  soil  beyond  any  other  crop 
and  is  not  in  the  way  of  the  corn  crop,  germinating  after  corn  is  laid  by.  Cattle  and 
horses  fatten  on  this  plant  rapidly ;  in  fact,  nothing  is  better  to  restore  health  and 
vigor  to  a  worn-out  beast  than  a  few  weeks  in  a  beggar-wred  patch.  It  is  of  no 
value  for  hay  or  wiuter  forage. 

J.  A.  Stockford,  Cary  ville,  Fla. : 

It  is  at  home  in  middle  Florida,  and  is  being  introduced  in  western  Florida  by 
some  enterprising  farmers  who  had  a  chance  to  test  its  value  in  middle. Florida  while 
fanning  there.  Those  who  have  condemned  it  have  usually  done  so  without  apparent 
reason. 

D.  S.  Denmark,  Quitman,  Brooks  County,  Ga. : 

We  have  a  plant  here  known  as  beggar-weed  that  grows  on  cultivated  lands,  and 
when  once  seeded  always  seeds  itself.  It  is  a  line  summer  and  fall  forage  plant;  also 
fine  for  hay  and  for  renovating  worn-out  lands,  but  difficult  to  exterminate.  It 
grows  only  in  south  Georgia  and  in  Florida. 


95 

W.  B.  McDaniel,  Faceville,  (la.  : 

Beggar-tick  or  beggar-lice  grows  well  in  the  southwestern  pari  of  Georgia,  is  an 
excellent  plant  for  forage,  both  green  and  cured,  and  is  splendid  as  a  fertilizer,  build- 
ing up  land  very  rapidly.  From  the  1st  of  July  it  will  entirely  cover  the  ground  the 
same  season. 

R.  J.  Redding,  Atlanta,  Ga.  : 

Introduced  from  Florida  and  cultivated  in  southern  Georgia  for  hay  and  as  B  icno- 
vator  of  the  soil,  especially  tho  latter.  It  is  not  hardy  againsl  cold,  and  Is  not  grown 
in  middle  and  northern  Georgia. 

Whitfield  Moore,  Woodland,  Red  River  County,  Tex.: 
That  which  1  cultivated  was  from  seeds  from  the  J  >epartmen1  of  Agriculture,  and  ap- 
pears somewhat  different  from  the  native.  It  has  to  be  seeded  annually.  It  will  not 
stand  much  grazing,  but  is  a  good  fertilizer,  and  drought  seems  not  to  affecl  its  growth 
in  the  least.  It  is  best  adapted  to  light,  sandy  land,  and  will  grow  a  heavy  crop  from 
4  to  0  feet  high  ou  the  poorest  sandy  land  we  have,  and  in  the  driest  seasons.  The 
hay  is  very  sweet  and  nutritious,  and  all  stock  eat  it  more  greedily  than  anything  else 
I  have  ever  fed.  The  only  objection  to  it  is  the  trouble  of  saving  and  cleaning  the 
seed. 

LESPEDEZA. 

Lespedeza  striata  (Japan  Clover). 

This  plant  was  introduced  in  some  unknown  way,  over  forty  years  ago, 
from  China  into  the  South  Atlantic  States.  It  was  little  noticed  before 
the  war,  but  during  the  war  it  extended  north  and  west  and  has  since 
spread  rapidly  over  abandoned  fields,  along  roadsides,  and  in  open 
woods,  and  now  furnishes  thousands  of  acres  of  excellent  grazing  in 
every  one  of  the  Gulf  States,  and  is  still  spreading  northward  in  Ken- 
tucky and  Virginia,  and  westward  in  Texas,  Indian  Territory,  and 
Arkansas.  It  is  an  annual  and  furnishes  pasture  only  during  summer 
and  until  killed  by  frost  in  the  fall.  The  small  purplish  blossoms  are 
produced  singly  in  the  axils  between  the  leaf  and  stem,  and  the  seeds 
ripen,  a  few  at  a  time,  from  about  the  1st  of  August  until  the  close  of  the 
season.  It  reproduces  itself  from  seed  on  the  same  ground  year  after 
year,  and  on  this  account  has  been  erroneously  called  a  perennial.  It 
will  grow  on  poor  soils,  either  sand  or  clay,  but  prefers  the  latter.  It 
is  better  adapted  to  poor  soils  than  Bermuda  grass,  both  from  giving  a 
more  certain  and  perhaps  larger  yield,  and  from  being  more  useful  in 
restoring  their  fertility.  On  poor  upland  soils  it  is  seldom  cut  for  hay, 
growing  only  from  6  inches  to  1  foot  in  height,  and  being  incliued  to 
spread  out  flat  upon  the  surface.  On  rich  bottom-lauds  it  grows  thicker, 
taller,  and  more  upright,  and  is  largely  cut  for  hay.  It  has  been  sown 
artificially  only  to  a  limited  extent  as  yet,  but  seed  is  now  offered  in  the 
market,  and  its  cultivation  is  likely  to  be  liberally  extended,  especially 
on  lands  too  dry  or  poor  for  alfalfa  and  where  the  true  clovers  do  not 
succeed.  Japan  clover  is  remarkable  for  holding  its  own  against  other 
plants.  It  will  run  out  broom  sedge  and  other  inferior  plants,  and 
even  Bermuda  in  some  localities.  It  does  not  withstand  drought  as 
well  as  either  Bermuda  or  Johnson  grass,  but  soon  recovers  after  a 


96 

rain.  The  young  plauts  are  easily  killed  by  drought  or  frost,  and  for 
this  reason  a  good  catch  is  more  certain  on  an  unbroken  sod  than  on 
well-prepared  land.  Still,  there  is  believed  to  be  less  difficulty  in  ob- 
taining a  catch  with  this  than  with  some  other  forage  plants.  A  good 
method  of  seeding  is  to  sow  in  March  at  the  rate  of  one-half  bushel  per 
acre,  on  small  grain  sown  the  previous  autumn  or  winter. 

For  hay  it  should  be  cut  early,  before  it  becomes  woody.  It  is  cured 
in  the  same  manner  as  clover,  and  the  hay  is  apparently  relished  by 
all  kinds  of  stock.  There  is  some  complaint  that  stock  do  not  at  first 
eat  it  readily  while  growing,  and  that  horses  and  mules  are  liable  to  be 
salivated  if  allowed  to  eat  it  freely  while  luxuriant.  In  both  these  re- 
spects, however,  it  probably  differs  little  from  the  ordinary  clovers. 
Xo  cases  have  been  reported  of  bloat  or  hoven  being  caused  by  it. 

E.  L.  Allen,  Brownsville,  Haywood  County,  Tenu.: 

Lcspedeza  striata  (Japan  clover)  grows  luxuriantly,  is  very  hardy,  and  is  the  best 
pasture  we  have  in  summer.  It  is  especialiy  adapted  to  poor  upland,  covering  the 
earth,  eradicating  weeds  and  sedge  grass,  preventing  land  from  washing,  aud  in- 
creasing its  fertility.  It  grows  well  in  the  open  timber.  Our  special  need  has  been 
a  grass  to  withstand  the  heats  of  summer  and  afford  pastures  for  the  early  fall.  Japan 
clover  has  met  this  requirement. 

£[.  H.  Lovelace,  Como,  Henry  County,  Tenn.: 

Japan  clover  made  its  appearance  here  three  or  four  years  ago,  and  now  occupies 
nearly  all  lands  that  have  been  exhausted  and  turned  out,  growing  on  laud  too  poor 
to  grow  any  other  plant.  In  fact,  it  will  grow  in  a  red  gully  ;  hence  it  is  the  best 
thing  to  prevent  washing  I  ever  saw,  besides  all  kinds  of  stock  are  fond  of  it ;  and 
grow  fat  on  it. 

B.  D.  Baugh,  State  statistical  agent,  Carrollton,  Miss. : 

Japan  clover  is  the  most  wide-spread  of  the  natural  forage  plauts  of  this  State.  It 
grows  luxuriantly  on  any  kind  of  soil  except  light  prairie  ash-land.  It  is  easily  cured, 
makes  hay  of  excellent  quality,  and  furnishes  more  than  half  of  the  long  forage  of 
this  State.  It  grows  well  on  upland,  but  best  ou  bottom-laud  and  alluvial  soil, 
where  it  frequently  attains  a  height  of  30  inches.  If  intended  for  hay  it  should  be 
mowed  when  the  first  bloom  appears,  and  be  '•  browsed  "  or  stacked  after  six  or  eight 
hours'  exposure  to  the  sun.  It  affords  good  pasture  from  the  1st  of  May  until  killed 
by  frost,  about  the  middle  of  November. 

George  Echols,  Longview.  Gregg  County,  northeastern  Texas : 

It  appeared  here  four  years  ago,  and  it  now  has  possession  of  all  the  open  idle  land. 
It  seeds  very  abundantly,  and  grows  so  densely  that  it  forms  a  mat.  It  flourishes 
with  Bermuda  grass,  so  that  the  hay  mowed  is  about  half  and  half. 

Dr.  D.  H.  Brodnax,  statistical  correspondent,  Brodnax,  Morehouse 
Parish,  La. : 

Lespede:a  was  first  noticed  here  about  1865.  It  is  supposed  to  have  been  introduced 
in  the  cavalry  hay  fed  the  horses  of  the  Federal  cavalry,  which  occupied  this  parish 
for  a  short  time.  It  has  since  covered  nearly  the  whole  parish.  It  is  not  cultivated* 
but  i-;  rapidly  rooting  out  nearly  every  other  grass  iu  the  parish.  It  kills  our  bitter- 
weed  (dog  fennel),  Bermuda  grass,  and  everything  else.  It  is  a  splendid  forage  crop, 
and  excellent  for  grazing  until  frosts  destroy  it. 


Dr.  Charles  iMolir,  Mobile,  Alabama  : 

Le8j)vdeza  striata  (Japan  clover)  is  an  animal  plant,  winch,  during  the  last  fcwentj 
years,  Las  spread  all  over  the  Gulf  States.  It  bloouia  and  ripens  its  seeds  from  the 
early  summer  months  to  the  close  of  the  season,  and  -row  >  spontaneously  it-  exposed, 
Uiore  or  less  damp,  places  of  a  somewhat  close,  loain\  Boil.  No  al  tempts  at  its  cult  iva- 
tion  have  been  made.  In  the  stronger  soil  of  the  lauds  iu  tbo  iuterior  this  plaut, 
protected  from  the  browsing  of  cattle,  -rows  from  H  to  2  leer  iu  height,  and  yields 
large  crops  of  sweet,  nutritious  hay,  the  same  plol  affording  a  cut  in  Augusl  and  an- 
other in  October,  yielding,  respectively,  \h  tons  and  1  ton  of  hay  to  the  acre.  The 
plant  is  perfectly  hardy,  and  is  not  known  to  have  been  killed  out  by  a  long  drought. 
It  is  easily  subdued  by  cultivation,  as  it  does  not  again  make  its  appearance  on  laud 
where  it  has  been  plowed  in,  and  is  not  found  among  the  weeds  the  farmer  has  to  con- 
tend with  in  the  cultivation  of  Lis  crop.  Jt  is  a  perfect  pasture  plant,  easily  estab- 
lished, and  standing  browsing  and  tramping  by  cattle  well.  Its  propagation  through 
the  woods  and  pastures  is  effected  by  cattle,  the  seeds  passing  through  the  animals 
with  their  vitality  unimpaired.  As  a  fertilizing  plant  it  is  greatly  inferior  to  the 
Mexican  clover. 

J.  B.  Wade,  Edgewood,  De  Kalb  Couuty,  Ga. : 

It  is  said  by  the  old  residents  here  that  Japan  clover  was  unknown  in  this  part  of 
the  country  until  "after  the  war."  It  now  grows  spontaneously  on  most  of  the  land 
of  middle  Georgia  that  has  a  red-clay  subsoil,  and  which  has  been  turned  out,  i.  <., 
not  plowed  or  cultivated  for  two  or  three'years.     It  grows  sufficiently  high  to  make 

hay,  hut  as  it  springs  up  in  February,  or  even  earlier  should  there  come  a  warm  spell 
of  weather,  it  is  mostly  used  for  grazing,  as  it  lasts  from  February  to  November. 

J.  B.  Dai-tint,  Denver,  S.  C. : 

It  does  not  stand  drought  as  well  as  Bermuda;  both  are  our  best  pasture  plants. 
For  cattle  we  have  nothing  better  than  Japan  (lover  ;  but  it  salivates  horses  and 
mules  after  the  1st  of  July,  especially  if  verv  luxuriant. 

J.  W.  Walker,  of  Franklin,  X.  0.,  in  a  letter  to  the  Blade  Farm,  says: 

Seventeen  years  ago  Japan  clover  was  found  here,  occupying  an  are;;  not  exceeding 
10  feet  square.  It  now  covers  thousands  of  acres,  upon  which  al!  kinds  of  stock  keep 
fat  and  sleek,  while  the  yield  iu  milk  and  beef  products  has  iu  creased  a  hundred-fold. 
Our  exhausted  aud  turned-out  lands  that  have  hitherto  yielded  nothing  but  that 
worse  than  useless  broom  sedge  [Andropogon  scoparhis),  now  have  in  its  stead  a 
beautiful  carpet  of  most  nutritious  verdure. 

This  plant  grows  anywhere  and  on  any  kind  of  land,  rich  or  poor,  wet  or  dry,  high 
or  low.  It  has  been  found  in  luxuriant  growth  on  the  summit  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  at 
a  height  of  4,000  feet.  It  will  catch  and  grow  luxuriantly  where  none  of  the  clovers 
proper  will  grow  at  all.     Unlike  them  it  never  runs  out. 

J.  B.  McGekee  gives  the  following"  experiences  in  a  letter  to  the 
Southern  Live  Stock  Journal,  September,  1886  : 

This  has  proved  tho  worst  season  for  its  propagation  that  1  have  met  with.  I  have 
this  week  examined  over  200  acres  of  my  last  spring's  sowiug,  where  I  sowed  one- 
half  bushel  per  acre,  and  I  find  the  most  spotted  stand  I  ever  saw  ;  and  of  tin-  whole 
200  acres  I  will  get  a  crop  of  hay  on  not  to  exceed  50  acres*.  My  first  sowing  of  about 
80  acres  was  commenced  about  March  22,  and  finished  about  the  1st  of  April.  This 
was  coming  ttp  thickly  when  the  freeze  of  the  0th  of  April  came,  and  I  am  convinced 
that  all  seeds  then  sprouting  were  frozen  out  and  killed.  The  sowings  during  April 
did  better,  hut  anything  like  a  reasonable  stand  is  found  only  on  moist  places.  The 
reason  for  this  is  the  fact  that  not  a  drop  of  rain  fell  from  April  26  to  June  6.  My 
worst  catch  was  on  comparatively  clean  land,  an  oat  field,  in  which  the  oats  had 
3594  GR 7 


98 

been  mostly  killed  by  the  winter.  My  best  catch  was  on  a  grass  sod.  I  found  that 
a  freeze  or  a  drought  catching  the  plants  before  the  roots  have  penetrated  the  soil 
are  equally  disastrous.  On  some  uu-adows  of  previous  sowings  I  am  now  cutting  a 
heavy  crop  of  almost  pure  Lespedeza.  The  reverses  of  this  year  will  not  loosen  the 
hold  of  the  giass  on  my  estimation  in  the  least. 

(Plate  1)8.) 

MISCELLANEOUS  PLANTS. 


OPUNTIA. 
Opuntia  Engelmanni  (Nopal;  Prickly  Pear). 

One  of  the  principal  characteristics  of  the  vegetation  of  arid  districts 
is  the  prevalence  of  different  species  of  Cactacew  or  cactus-like  plants. 
These  are  exceedingly  variable  in  form  and  size,  and  are  divided  into 
several  genera.  Of  these  the  Opuntia*  are  extremely  common.  There 
are  two  kinds  of  these — one  with  broad,  flat  joints,  and  one  with  cylin- 
drical or  club  -shaped  joints. 

Of  the  flat,  broad-jointed  kind  there  are  many  species.  The  Opuntia 
vulgaris  is  common  in  sandy  ground  in  the  Eastern  Atlantic  States.  In 
western  Texas  and  other  parts  of  the  arid  regions  reaching  to  Califor- 
nia there  is  a  much  larger  kind,  of  the  same  general  appearance,  ^vhich 
is  called  Opuntia  Engelmanni,  This  is  a  stout,  coarse-looking  plant, 
growing  from  4  to  G  feet  high,  and  much  branched.  The  joints  arc, 
in  large  specimens,  a  foot  long  and  0  or  10  inches  broad,  with  groups 
of  stout  spines  from  J  to  1£  inches  long.  They  are  apparently  leaf- 
less, but  in  young  specimens  minute,  fleshy  leaves  may  be  detected. 
Springing  from  the  side  of  these  joints  at  the  proper  season  are  hand- 
some flowers  2  or  3inches  in  diameter,  which  are  succeeded  by  a  round- 
ish fruit,  nearly  2  inches  long,  filled  with  a  purplish  pulp,  generally  of 
an  insipid  taste,  while  imbedded  in  the  pulp  are  numbers  of  small,  hard 
seeds.  The  common  name  of  this  Opuntia  among  the  Mexicans  is  u  nopal," 
and  some  of  the  species  have  fruit  which  is  edible  and  highly  esteemed. 
The  use  of  the  above  species  of  prickly  pear,  or  cactus,  for  forage  in  the 
dry  regions  of  Texas  and  westward  is  a  matter  of  considerable  impor- 
tance. An  extended  account  of  its  use  is  given  in  Bulletin  3,  of  this 
Division.  The  usual  method  of  preparing  the  plant  for  feeding  is  to 
singe  the  prickles  over  a  brisk  blaze.  To  some  extent,  especially  by 
sheep,  the  plant  is  eaten  in  the  natural  state,  but  serious  consequences 
frequently  result  in  such  cases.  Its  chief  use  is  3S  a  substitute  for  fod- 
der in  times  of  scarcity,  but  when  properly  prepared  and  fed  with  hay 
and  grain  it  forms  a  valuable  article  of  food  for  cattle. 

J.  A.  Avent,  Sr.,  Bexar  County,  southern  Texas: 

I  have  been  feeding-  prickly  pear  for  thirty  years.  It  is  an  excellent  feed  for  cattle 
if  fed  with  fodder  or  hay  of  any  kind  ;  when  not  too  full  of  sap  it  may  be  fed  alone. 
Ii  cut  in  January  it  can  be  fed  until  March  20,  but  if  left  standing  it  is  not  good  feed 
after  the  20th  of  February.  There  is  nothing  that  cattle  like  better  than  prickly 
pear  when  accustomed  to  it.  Wc  feed  it  only  in  dry  years  when  grass  is  scarce.  We 
begin  feeding  about  the  1st  of  November  and  continue  until  the  20th  of  February, 


The  old  stumps  with  a  little  coru  will  fatten  cattle  very  fasl .  We  burn  off  t lie  thorns 
in  feeding  it,  but  most  stock-raisers  do  not.  The  apples  ripen  aboul  (he  1st  of  July 
and  are  eaten  by  almost  everything.  Hogs  gel  fat  enough  upon  lliem  to  Lender  into 
lard  when  the  crop  is  good,  and  it  seldom  fails. 

A.  J.  SSpeocer,  OValde,  Tex.: 

It  is  eaten  by  cattle,  sheep,  -oats,  and  hogs.  They  eat  it  mainly  as  found  ou  t lit* 
range,  though  sometimes  the  thorns  are  scorched  off.  It  is  considered  one  of  the  best 
native  forage  plants,  especially  to  carry  these  stock  through   the   loug  droughts  that 

occur  occasionally  in  western  Texas.  It  is  a  partial  substitute  for  water  I'd  all  stock 
that  eat  it.     The  only  injury  I  have  known  to  result  from  eating  it  has  been  to  sheep, 

and  then  only  when  eaten  while  frozen. 

S.  S.  Jamison,  Burnet,  Tex. : 

It  is  used  extensively  in  the  southwestern  part  of  the  State,  especially  by  Mexicans, 
for  wintering  work-oxen,  cows,  and  other  cattle  upon.  The  thorns  are  Bcorched  off 
he  fore  feeding,  and  no  harm  results  from  its  use  unless  it  be  too  great  a  laxness  at 
times.     Only  one  kh?d  is  used  as  far  as  I  know,  but  it  varies  in  height  in  different 

localities.  In  this  country  it  grows  from  6  inches  to  2  feet.  Farther  south  it  -rows 
taller. 

Prof.  George  W.  Curtis,  College  Station,  Tex.: 

It  is  used  quite  extensively  for  cattle  and  sheep.  The  prickles  are  singed  off,  or  the 
#w  hole  plant  is  boiled  and  fed,  mixed  with  bran.  Only  the  Opuntia  vulgaris,  and  per- 
haps a  variety  .of  the  same,  are  used,  so  far  as  1  know.     I  have  no  positive  knowledge 

of  any  injury  to  stock  from  feeding  upon  it.  but  from  its  purgative  nature  I  should 
be  afraid  that  it  might  cause  abortion  in  pregnant  cows. 

Has  your  attention  been  called  to  the  use  of  the  pi  ickly-peai  cactus  as  a  lubricant  .' 
Certain  of  the  Western  railroads  have  used  it  with  excellent  results.  It  is  gathered 
in  Texas,  shipped  to  St.  Louis,  ground  up  coarsely,  and  pine  tar  added  to  keep  the 
albuminoids  from  decomposition  (I  do  not  know  whether  anything  else  is  added  or 
not),  after  which  it  is  barreled  and  returned.  The  total  cost  is  2\  cents  per  pound, 
and  it  is  said  to  do  tho  work  of  6  or  8  cents'  worth  of  grease  and  rags  formerly  used. 
It  is  especially  useful  in  preventing  and  cooling  hot  boxes.  If  this  comes  into  gen- 
eral use  it  will  open  a  new  Held  of  production. 

Leonard  A.  Heil,  San  Antonio,  Tex.: 

The  cactus,  or  prickly  pear,  grows  abundantly  in  nearly  every  section  of  south- 
west Texas,  often  reaching  a  height  v£  10  or  12  feet.  Ever  since  the  settlement  of 
the  country  by  the  English,  and  probably  years  before,  it  has  been  used  to  supplement 
grass  in  times  of  drought,  but  now  it  is  being  used  with  other  feeds  at  all  times,  and 
especially  in  the  winter.  Sheep  do  well  upon  it  without  water,  there  being  sufficient 
moisture  in  the  leaves.  The  herder  goes  along  with  a  short  sword  and  clips  the 
points  of  the  great  leaves,  so  that  the  sheep  can  insert  its  nose,  when  it  readily  eats 
the  in  entire. 

Dr.  A.  E.  Carotbers,  an  extensive  ranchman  of  Cotulla,  La  Salle 
County,  Tex.,  began  feeding  prickly  pear  and  cotton-seed  meal  to  four 
hundred  Lead  of  steers  for  the  purpose  of  fattening  for  the  market,  and 
at  the  last  account  was  highly  pleased  with  the  result  and  confident  of 
financial  success.  He  singes  off  the  thorns  with  a  flame,  and  cuts  up 
the  pear  and  feeds  it  mixed,  in  troughs,  with  the  cottonseed  meal  in 
the  proportion  of  about  5  pounds  of  meal  to  70  pounds  of  pear.  The 
steers  eat  this  food  with  great  relish  and  take  the  food  rapidly.  They 
have  about  a  ^oOO-acre  ikld  to  run  in,    If  tins  method  of  feeding  proves 


100 

ii  success,  it  may  work  a  revolution  in  this  section,  as  thousands  of  tons 
of  cotton  seed  are  exported  annually  to  England,  and  the  supply  of  the 
pear  is  simply  inexhaustible.  The  feeding  of  the  pear  need  in  no  way 
diminish  the  supply,  as  whenever  a  piece  of  leaf  is  kept  on  the  ground 
it  takes  root  and  makes  another  plant,  growing  rapidly.  Corn  is  always 
high,  and  can  never  be  transported  here  for  stock-feed  and  the  stock 
be  shipped  back  again  over  the  same  road  with  a  certainty  of  success. 
The  utilizing  of  prickly  pear  and  cottonseed  meal  will  make  beef-rais- 
ing, as  well  as  breeding,  profitable  in  this  portion  of  the  country,  and 
make  the  ranchmen  entirely  independent  of  all  other  sections. 

Dr.  Carothers,  above  mentioned,  writes,  March,  1887 : 

In  pursuance  of  a  correspondence  had  with  your  Department  last  summer,  begun 
by  Mr.  A.  J.  Dull,  of  Harrisburg,  Pa.,  who  has  cattle  interests  in  this  State,  I  have 
fed  four  hundred  beeves,  and  am  now  feeding  eight  hundred  more,  on  this  food.  From 
the  analysis  furnished  by  Mr.  Richardson  of  your  Department,  I  found  that  the  cac- 
tus was  deficient  in  albuminoids,  and  from  the  well-known  richness  of  the  cotton- 
seed oil  cakes  in  these  elements,  I  selected  it  to  supply  the  deficiency,  which  it  did 
very  well.  At  first  I  burned  the  thorns  off  the  cactus,  then  cut  it  up  by  a  machiue 
which  I  devised,  and  spread  it  in  large  troughs,  scattering  the  cotton-seed  meal  over 
it,  when  the  cattle  ate  it  with  great  avidity.  I  soon  found,  however,  that  the  burn- 
ing was  injurious,  as  it  was  impossible  to  conduct  it  without  cooking  the  cactus  to  a 
greater  or  less  extent,  which  caused  purging  in  the  animals.  To  remedy  this,  i.  e., 
to  destroy  the  thorn  without  scorching,  I  took  advantage  of  the  botanical  fact  that 
the  thorns  of  Opuntia  Engelmanni,  the  only  one  I  use,  are  set  at  an  angle  of  about  60 
degrees  backward  to  the  plane  of  the  leaf,  and  that  a  cut  of  half  an  inch  would  strike 
every  one  of  them.  I  therefore  set  the  knives  of  my  machine  to  a  half-inch  cut,  aud 
find  that  when  cut  in  this  manner  cattle  eat  it  fully  as  well  as  when  scorched,  with 
none  of  the  unpleasant  results  referred  to.  I  feed  per  head  about  60  pounds  of  the 
cactus  and  an  average  of  about  6  pounds  of  the  meal  per  day  for  ninety  days.  A 
train-load  of  three  hundred  and  thirty  head  of  these  cattle  sold  last  week  iu  Chicago 
at  A\  cents  per  pound.  The  meat  is  singularly  juicy  and  tender,  the  fat  wTell  distrib- 
uted among  tho  muscles.  I  have  sold  it  at  1  cent  per  pound  gross  over  grass  cattle  in 
San  Antonio. 

John  C.  Ohesley,  Hamilton,  Hamilton  County,  central  Texas : 

The  prickly  pear  is  used  hero  to  a  great  extent.  We  have  a  ranch  in  Stephens  County 
where  we  are  now  feeding  tho  pear  to  over  a  hundred  of  our  poorest  cattle,  and  they 
aro  doing  well  on  it.  It  is  fed  at  nearly  all  of  the  ranches  of  Stephens  County  where 
they  aro  feeding  at  all,  and  there  are  thousands  of  cattle  being  fed  this  winter  on 
prickly  pear  that  are  doing  well  and  will  come  to  grass  in  good  shape  that  would 
otherwise  have  died,  or  at  least  the  larger  part  of  them. 

Tho  pear  should  be  cut  and  hauled  to  the  feed-lots  while  tho  sap  is  in  the  roots,  or 
before  the  warm  days  come,  for  if  it  is  fed  when  the  sap  is  in  the  tops  it  is  liable  to 
cause  laxness  and  weaken  the  animals.  We  prepare  it  for  feeding  by  holding  it  for  a 
moment  over  a  blaze.  I  believe  that  in  the  southern  part  of  the  State  they  have  a 
burner  with  which  they  burn  of!  the  prickles  without  cutting  the  plants  from  the 
ground,  and  then  let  the  cattle  eat  them  as  they  please,  but  we  prefer  to  cut  and  feed 
as  above  stated.  One  good  man  can  prepare  the  cactus  and  feed  about  a  hundred 
head  of  cattle  in  this  wTay.  A  poor  or  half-starved  animal  should  be  fed  only  a  small 
quantity  of  it  at  first,  which  may  be  gradually  increased  until  the  animal  is  allowed 
to  eat  all  it  wants-  When  fed  in  this  manner  to  range-cattle  we  have  never  known 
any  injurious  results.  But  if  it  is  fed  to  steers,  and  they  are  worked  immediately  af- 
terwards, even  if  the  feed  is  small  and  they  are  accustomed  to  it,   they  are  liable  to 


101 

Swell  up.  We  have  had  them  do  so  when  we  thought  there  was  danger  of  its  proving 
fatal.  They  can  be  given  a  t'rvd  at  night,  however,  and  then  worked  the  following 
morning  without  danger  of  any  injurious  results. 

H.  J.  Hunter,  M.  D.,  Palestine,  Tex.  : 

West  of  the  Colorado  River,  in  this  State,  the  cactus  grows  in  vast  forests.  I  have 
Been  cattle  and  sheep  feed  on  it  as  it  grows  wild.  Stockmen  cul  it  on  the  ground, 
singe  off  the  prickles,  and  cut  in  small  bits  for  their  stock. 

Mr.  Alonzo  Millett,  of  Kansas  City,  Mo. : 

I  confine  the  treatment  of  my  stock  in  La  Salle.  County,  Tex.,  for  their  firsl  six 
weeks  or  two  months,  in  that  locality,  almost  exclusively  to  the  feeding  of  prickly 
pear,  which  simple  measure  has  proved  highly  successful,  and  is  worthy  of  more  gen- 
eral trial  as  a  preventive  of  Texas  fever.  There  is  a  cactus,  called  by  the  Mexicans 
Nopal  dc  Castilliano,  which  is  cultivated  in  this  State  Cor  its  fruit.  This  plant  grows 
very  large  and  yields  enormous  crops  of  fruit,  which  is  sold  on  the  street  for  food  and 
to  make  beer.  The  young  growth  of  the  cactus  is  used  in  early  spring  by  the  Mexi- 
cans of  western  Texas  as  food.  It  is  cut  in  small  pieces,  mixed  with  Hour  in  a  hatter. 
and  fried.     It  is  said  to  bo  as  palatable  as  egg-plant. 

Otanes  F.  Wright,  Temesoal,  San  Bernardino  County,  Gal.: 

.Many  kinds  of  cactus  grow  here.  The  flat  kind,  or  prickly  pear,  is  abundant  in 
places.  Cattle,  goats,  and  sheep  eat  it  sometimes  without  any  preparation  when  very 
hungry,  but  it  looks  as  though  needles  and  pins  would  he  a  pleasanter  and  safer  diet. 
I  have  never  known,  however,  any  had  results  to  come  from  eating  it.  After  boiling 
to  soften  the  thorns  it  makes  good  food  for  milch  cows,  and  is  much  relished.  Tin; 
trouble  of  boiling  prevents  its  extensive  use. 

(Plate  99.) 

EUROTIA. 

Eurotia  lanata  (White  Sage). 

It  is  a  perennial,  halt"  shrubby  plant,  growing  a  foot  or  two  high,  with  slender, 
woolly  twigs,  which  are  abundantly  covered  with  linear  sessile  leaves  an  inch  and  a 
half  long,  with  a  velvety  surface  of  a  grayish  color  and  with  the  margin  rolled  hack. 
They  are  mostly  in  small  fascicles  or  clusters.  The  flowers  are  minute  and  in  small 
clusters  in  the  axils  of  the  leaves,  chiefly  on  the  upper  part  of  the  stem.  The  flowers 
are  of  two  kinds,  male  and  female,  on  separate  parts  of  the  stems,  or  sometimes  on 
separate  plants.  The  small  fruit  is  covered  with  long  and  close  whitish  hairs.  The 
plant  belongs  to  the  order  Chenopodiacea',  or  the'  same  order  as  the  common  pig-weed. 

The  plant  known  as  "white  sage,"  or  "  winter  fat,"  is  abundant  in 
plaees  through  the  Rocky  Mountain  region  from  Mexico  to  British 
America.  Prof.  S.  M.  Tracy,  who  visited  portions  of  Nevada,  Arizona, 
and  adjoining  territory,  in  1SS7,  investigating  the  native  forage  plants, 
under  the  direction  of  the  Commissioner  of  Agriculture,  states  that  in 
the  more  arid  districts  of  Arizona,  Nevada,  ami  Utah,  this  plant,  with 
grease-wood  (Sarcobatus  vermiculatus) ,  are  the  most  highly  valued  plants 
for  winter  forage.  Au  important  fact  in  regard  to  the  plant  is  its 
ability  to  thrive  in  somewhat  alkaline  soils.  It.  is  employed  as  a  remedy 
for  intermittent  fevers.     (Plate  100.) 


102 

ERODIUM. 

Erodium  cicutarium  (Allilaria). 

This  annual,  supposed  to  have  been  introduced  from  Europe,  does  not 
seem  to  be  mentioned  in  any  work  on  forage  plants.  It  occurs  abun- 
dantly and  is  of  much  value  for  pasture  over  a  large  extent  of  territory  in 
northern  California  and  adjoining  regions;  elsewhere  in  the  United 
States  it  is  sparingly  introduced  and  usually  regarded  only  as  a  weed, 
though  it  is  not  very  troublesome.  Besides  the  above  name  it  is  known 
as  storksbill,  pin  clover,  pin  grass,  and  filaree ;  it  is  neither  a  grass 
nor  a  clover,  but  belongs  to  the  geranium  family;  it  starts  very  early, 
grows  rapidly,  furnishing  good  early  pasture,  and  ripens  seed  before  the 
hottest  weather;  it  is  of  little  value  as  hay,  and  is  not  worth  introducing 
where  the  ordinary  forage  plants  can  be  grown.  The  seed  is  seldom 
sown,  but  the  plant  comes  spontaneously  each  year  from  self-sown  seed. 
A  lew  have  begun  its  artificial  propagation,  and  it  is  undoubtedly  worthy 
of  introduction  into  other  regions  in  the  South  and  West  having  pro- 
longed droughts;  it  is  hardy  at  the  Forth,  but  makes  a  much  smaller 
growth  there. 

Brewer  and  AVatson*  in  "  The  Botany  of  California  "  say  in  regard 
to  it: 

Very  common  throughout  fhe  State,  extending  to  British  Columbia,  New  Mexico, 
and  Mexico;  also  widely  distributed  in  South  America  and  the  Eastern  Continent. 
It  has  generally  been  considered  an  introduced  species,  but  it  is  more  decidedly 
and  widely  at  home  throughout  the  interior  than  any  other  introduced  plant,  and 
according  to  much  testimony  it  was  as  common  throughout  California  early  in  the 
present  century  as  now.  It  is  popularly  known  as  alfilaria,  or  less  commonly  as 
pin  clover  and  pin  grass,  and  is  a  valuable  and  nutritious  forage  plant,  reputed  to 
impart  an  excellent  flavor  to  milk  and  butter. 

Prof.  E.  W.  Hilgard,  in  an  article  on  the  Agriculture  and  Soils  of 
California,  in  the  Report  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  for  1878, 
page  4S8,  says : 

Two  species  of  crane's-bill  (Erodium  cicutarium  and  moschatum)  are  even  more  com- 
mon here  than  in  Southern  Europe,  and  the  first-named  is  esteemed  as  one  of  the 
most  important  natural  pasture  plants,  being  about  the  only  green  thiug  available 
to  stock  throughout  the  dry  season,  and  eagerly  cropped  by  them  at  all  times.  Its 
Spanish  name  of  alfilerilla  (signifying  a  pin.  and  now  frequently  translated  into 
'-'  pin  weed1')  shows  that  it  is  an  old  citizen,  even  if  possibly  a  naturalized  one. 

Otanes  F.  Wright,  Temescal,  San  Bernardino  County,  Cal. : 

Allilaria  grows  plentifully  and  is  native  here.  It  is  the  best  grass  that  we  have 
during  the  wet  season  while  green,  but  does  not  amount  to  much  when  dry,  for  it 
shrinks  much  in  drying,  and  when  dry  breaks  easily  into  very  tine  bits,  almost  to 
dust. 

Allilaria  and  bur  clover  nearly  always  grow  together  on  the  same  land;  cold 
weather  never  kills  either  of  them.  Stock  pick  for  the  allilaria  while  growing 
(from  January  to  June),  but  after  it  dies  they  hunt  for  the  clover-burs  which  are  on 
the  ground,  and  in  their  efforts  to  get  the  burs  they  roll  the  old  dry  stems  into  rolls, 
sometimes  as  big  as  windrows  of  hay. 


1 03 

Bur  clover  and  filaria  (alfilaria)  grow  on  high  land,  and  die  when  dry  weather 
comes.     I  do  not  know  but  they  might  be  Kepi  green  all  the  year  if  kepi  wet. 

They  arc  about  the  only  plants  which  gTow  on  the  high  laud  all  the  year  us  alfalfa 
does  on  the  low  lands.  As  nine-tenths  of  our  land  is  dry  land,  you  can  see  the  extent 
of  our  needs. 

Daniel  Griswold,  Westminster,  Los  Angeles,  Cal.: 

I  think  alfilaria  would  be  a  good  thing  to  raise  iu  the  Southern  States,  but  it,  will 
be  a  rather  hard  seed  to  gather,  though  not  so  hard  as  Bermuda  grass.  It  produces 
a  small-jointed  seed,  with  a  beard  or  curl  attached.  Butte  or  Colnsa  County  would, 
be  the  best  place  to  obtain  the  seed.  The  plant  is  native  here.  It  is  never  cultivated 
but  comes  np  of  itself  whenever  there  is  rain  enough.  It  grows  everywhere  (ex- 
cept in  swamps)  in  damp  land,  on  the  driest  land,  and  on  the  tops  of  hills  up  to  tins 
snow-line.  It  has  a  root  that  runs  slightly  downward,  and  it  has  to  be  very  dry  to 
prevent  it  making  seed.  On  damp,  rich  land  it  grows  huge  enough  to  make  a  good 
swath  of  hay.  On  poor  or  dry  laud  it  is  small  and  dries  up,  but  even  in  its  dry  state 
stock  eat  it  clean  and  are  very  fond  of  it. 

C.  K.  Orcutt,  San  Diego,  Cal. : 

Erodium  cicutarium  and  Erodium  moschatum  (about  equally  used). grow  abundantly 

in  southern  California  and  through  northern  lower  California,  sometimes  attaining 
a  height  of  2  feet  or  more.  They  grow  on  dry  lands,  but  only  in  wet  years  or  where 
there  is  abundant  rain-fall  do  they  attain  any  size. 

O.  F.  Thorton,  Phoenix,  Maricopa  County,  Ariz. : 

It  is  not  cultivated,  but  is  rapidly  spreading  on  the  dry  ranges  ({.  c,  valleys  and 
mountain  sides),  and  is  one  of  the  very  best  wild  grasses,  either  green  or  dry. 

(Plate  101.) 

RICHARDSONIA. 

Richardsonia  scabra  (Mexican  Clover;    Spanish  Clover ;    Florida  Clover;    Water 
Parsley;   Bell-fountain;  Poor  Toe ;  Pigeon-Weed,  etc.). 

This  is  an  annual  plant  of  the  family  Rubiacece  which  contains  the 
coffee,  cinchona,  and  madder.  It  is  therefore  not  a  true  clover,  that 
name  having  perhaps  been  given  from  the  general  appearance  of  the 
plant  and  the  fact  that  the  flowers  are  mostly  borne  in  terminal  heads. 
The  stem  is  spreading,  branching,  and  somewhat  hairy,  and  the  leaves, 
unlike  the  clovers,  are  composed  of  a  single  piece.  The  plant  is  a  native 
of  Mexico  and  South  America,  which  has  become  naturalized  in  the 
United  States,  especially  along  the  Gulf  coast,  where  its  chief  value 
seems  to  be  as  a  renovator  of  poor,  sandy  soils.  In  more  dry,  exposed 
regions  it  seems  to  require  rich,  cultivated  soils  in  order  to  do  well.  It 
has  been  but  little  cultivated,  and  it  is  not  known  how  for  north  it  may 
be  grown  successfully,  but  it  would  probably  have  little  value  where 
clover  can  be  readily  grown.  The  statements  in  regard  to  its  value  for 
pasture  and  hay  are  very  conflicting.  It  is  usually  quite  succulent  and 
not  readily  cured  in  the  climate  where  it  is  most  largely  grown,  As  it 
grows  chiefly  in  cultivated  grounds,  it  is  often  looked  upon  only  as  a 
weed. 


104 

B.  B.  Van  fiuron,  Lakeside,  Fla. : 

I  Lave  disseminated  the  Spanish  clover  all  over  my  place,  as  I  consider  it  a  val- 
uable plant  for  improving  the  land.  It  is  also  a  very  good  forage  plant,  and  will 
grow  on  the  poorest  soil  without  manure. 

J.  C.  Neal,  M.  D.,  Archer,  Fla.: 

Grows  rapidly,  seeds  itself,  and  makes  a   fair  looking  lawn  or  field,  but  I  have  not 

found  a  cow  or  horse  that  would  touch  it  green  or  dry. 

J.  G.  Knapp,  Hillsborough  County,  south  era  Florida: 

Found  in  moist  fields  in  this  county  and  considered  a  valueless  weed.  It  is  not 
eat  i'ii  green  by  either  cattle  or  horses,  and  grows  Hat  on  the  ground,  so  that  it  can  not 
he  cut  for  hay.  On  account  of  the  large  number  of  seeds  it  perfects  it  is  difficult  to 
eradicate.  It  is  spoken  of  in  some  sections  as  a.  fertilizing  plant.  In  my  opinion  it 
has  no  other  value,   and  I  estimate  it  low  for  that  purpose. 

B.  C.  Smith,  Cold  Water,  Ga. : 

Thrives  only  on  highly  fertilized  soils,  in  the  best  of  tilth,  where  it  gives  a  large 
yield.  Mexican  clover,  being  very  similar  to  purslane,  is  very  hard  to  cure,  and  is  not 
well  relished  by  cattle  or  horses. 

C.  Menelas,  Savannah,  Ga. : 

I  have  seen  it  only  on  the  Gulf  coast,  where  it  nourishes  luxuriantly  without  cul- 
tivation, and  is  dreaded  by  nearly  every  one  as  a  weed.  Stock  appear  to  be  very 
fond  of  it,  and  the  yield  per  acre  must  he  very  heavy. 

Dr.  Charles  Mohr,  Mobile,  Ala. : 

Introduced  from  the  neighboring  tropics  and  perfectly  naturalized.  It  is  never 
cultivated,  hut  takes  possession  of  the  fields,  and  arrives  at  the  period  of  its  fullest 
growth  after  the  crops  of  vegetables,  Irish  potatoes,  corn,  and  oats,  are  laid  by  or 
have  been  removed,  yielding  spontaneous  crops  of  hay  and  affording  fully  two  cut- 
tings during  the  season  of  from  1  to  2  tons  per  acre,  according  to  tin;  fertility  of  the 
field. 

In  1874  the  same  gentleman  sent  a  sample  of  hay  of  this  plant  to  the 
Department,  which  was  found  to  be  nearly  as  rich  in  food  elements  as 
clover  hay.     In  his  letter  he  then  said  : 

It  forms  a  large  and  important  part  of  the  pine-woods  pasture  in  this  county.  It 
is  much  relished  by  horses  and  mutes,  which  seem  to  thrive  Avell  upon  it,  and  sheep 
feed  upon  it  with  great  avidity.  The  plant  is  known  here  by  the  name  of  "  Mexican 
clover,"  "poor  toes,"  or  "pigeon- weed."  Seventeen  years  ago  it  was  hut  sparse; 
now  it  occurs  in  all  our  cultivated  grounds,  covering  them  with  a  luxuriant  vegeta- 
tion after  the  crops  of  the  summer  have  been  removed. 

Thomas  J.  Key,  editor  Southern  Agriculturist,  Montgomery,  Ala.: 

It  grows  luxuriantly  on  cultivated,  sandy  lands  in  the  southern  part  of  the  State, 
makes  excellent  hay,  and  matures  after  corn  has  been  laid  by. 

James  B.  Siger,  Haudsborough,  southern  Mississippi: 

Of  late  years  Mexican  clover  has  been  introduced  and  grown  among  the  crab  grass. 
It  is  spreading  rapidly.  Its  habits  and  manner  of  cultivation  are  the  same  as  crab 
grass.     Cattle  will  pick  it  out  from  any  other  hay  and  eat  it  in  preference  to  any. 

Edward  C.  Reid,  Meridian,  Miss.: 

It  is  hardy,  and  grows  on  the  poorest  sandy  land  from  the  coast  up  to* the  Cretace- 
ous formation.  It  stands  drought  and  is  hard  to  exterminate.  It  conies  up  after 
corn  is  laid  by,  and  on  cotton-land  covers  the  cotton.  It.  is  not  especially  valuable 
as  a  pasture  plant,  as  it  comes  up  late  and  pasturing  kills  it  out.  In  cultivated 
lands  it  reseeds  itself,  and  comes  up  year  after  year. 


Clarke  Lewis,  Cliftonville,  Noxubee  County,  Miss.: 

It  prows  in  the  Gulf  States,  on  sandy  land,  and  furnishes  abundant  forage  of  fail 

quality  on  poor  soil.     There  is  none  in  this  section. 

W.  II.  Nevill,  Binnsville,  Miss.: 

Does  well  in  the  southern  half  of  the  Gulf  States. 

J.  II.  Mnrdock,  Bryan,  Brazos  County,  central  Texas : 

It  is  grown  hero  and  stands  drought  very  well  on  our  light,  sandy  soils,  and  makes 
good  pastures  iu  its  season. 

Mr.  Matt.  Coleman,  Leesburgb,  Sumter  County,  Fla.,  in  1878,  wrote 
to  the  Department: 

The  tradition  is,  that  when  the  Spanish  evacuated  Pensacola  this  plant  was  dis- 
covered there  by  the  cavalry  horse;*  feeding  upon  it  eagerly.  Five  years  ago  I  pro- 
cure d  some  of  the  seed  and  have  since  grown  it  in  my  orange  groves  as  a  forage  plant 
and  fertilizer.  It  grows  on  thin  pine  land  4  to  C  feet  in  length,  branching,  and  form- 
ing a  thick  mat,  which  affords  all  the  mulch  my  trees  require.  It  requires  two  days' 
sun  to  dry  it,  and  its  sweet  hay  is  relished  by  horses  and  cattle.  The  white  bloom 
opens  in  the  morning  and  closes  at  evening,  and  is  visited  by  bees  and  butterflies. 

(Plate  102.) 


ADDENDUM. 

So  much  interest  is  now  felt  in  the  matter  of  new  varieties  of  grasses, 
especially  by  the  Western  experiment  stations,  that  it  is  thought  best 
to  add  descriptions  and  figures  of  some  additional  species  which  have 
been  recommended  for  trial. 

The  Colorado  experiment  station,  aided  by  this  Department,  gave 
especial  attention  last  summer  to  the  collection  of  seeds  of  the  native 
grasses  of  that  region,  and  some  fifty  kinds  were  selected,  and  will  be 
subjected  to  cultivation  on  the  arid  land  of  that  section. 

Other  western  stations  will  take  up  the  same  line  of  work  in  the 
future.  The  illustrations  given  are  especially  valuable  for  the  identifi- 
cation of  the  various  species  by  students  or  by  any  persons  who  are  in- 
terested in  the  subject. 

e  Panicum  gibbum. 

A  perennial  species,  growing  in  .swamps  and  low,  wet  ground  in  the  Southern 
States  from  North  Carolina  to  Florida.  The  stem  is  decumbent,  branching  and.  root- 
ing at  the  lower  joints.  The  panicle  is  3  to  5  inches  long,  and  narrow,  the  branches 
being  appressed.  The  leaves  are  smooth  or  smoothish,  half  an  inch  broad,  and  fi  to  8 
inches  long.  The  whole  grass  is  of  a  deep  green  color.  The  flowers  drop  off  soon 
after  flowering.  The  grass,  if  it  occurs  in  abundance,  would  be  of  considerable  value, 
as  it  furnishes  a  good  deal  of  nutritious  matter. 

Mr.  J.  H.  Simpson,  of  Manatee,  Fla.,  writes  as  follows : 

This  most  valuable  grass  seems  to  have  been  entirely  overlooked  as  far  as  its  quali- 
ties for  hay  and  pasturage  are  concerned.  It  is  perfectly  at  home  in  any  situation. 
It  usually  grows  in  wet  places,  with  culms  2  or  3  feet  high.  The  late  J.  N.  Harris 
informed  me  that  he  believed  that  from  3  to  5  tons  of  most  excellent  hay  could  be 
cut  per  acre,  and  that  it  was  an  excellent  pasture  grass.  He  had  experimented  with 
it  for  years. 

(Plate  103.) 

Muhlenbergia  comata. 

This  species  is  closely  related  to  M.  glomcrata.  It  grows  throughout  the  Rocky 
Mountain  region  in  Colorado,  Wyoming,  Utah,  Idaho,  and  California,  usually  on  the 
sandy  and  alluvial  banks  of  streams.  It  grows  in  tufts  from  firm,  creeping  root 
stocks.  The  culms  are  erect,  2  to  3  feet  high,  and  leafy  below.  Tne  panicle  is  2  to 
4  inches  long,  narrow  and  close,  sometimes  interrupted  below,  generally  of  a  dark 
lead-color,  and  of  soft  texture.  The  outer  glumes  are  very  narrow  and  acute,  and 
the  flowering  glume  is  surrounded  at  the  base  by  a  copious  tuft  of  silky  hairs.  The 
slender  awn  of  the  flowering  glume  is  three  or  four  times  its  length. 

(Plate  104.) 

Sporobolus  heterolepis  (Bunch  Grass;  Wire  Grass). 

This  is  called  bunch  grass  and  wire  grass  from  the  abundant,  long, 
wiry  leaves  and  stems.     1  found  it  a  considerable  element  in  the  prairies 
10G 


107 

bf  southern  Dakota,  and  It-occurs  southward  to  Texas.  It  was  also 
Common  on  the  prairies  of  Illinois  and  Wisconsin  before  the  incoming 
of  settlements.    West  of  the  100th  meridian,  however,  especially  in 

sandy  soils,  this  species  is  replaced  by  two  others  of  the  same  genus, 
viz:  Sporobolus  cryptandrm  and  8.  airoides.  All  these  species  should 
receive  attention. 

It  grows  in  dense,  firmly  rooted  tufts,  principally  west  of  the  Mississippi  River, 
from  British  America  to  Arkansas.  The  panicle  is  from  :\  to  6  inches  long,  rather 
loose;  the  branches,  two  to  three  together,  slender,  and  with  a  few  rather  distant 
flowers. 

A  writer  in  the  Agricultural  Report  for  1870  says; 

This  species  may  he  identified  from  its  long,  slender  leaves,  growing  abundantly 
from  the  base  of  the  plant,  gracefully  curving;  from  its-tendency  to  grow  in  bunches 
or  stools,  and  when  in  fruit  from  its  small  panicle  of  sharp-pointed  spikelets  and  its 
round  seeds.     These,  when  bruised,  emit  a  strong,  heavy,  and   rather  disagreeable 

odor.     It  is  sometimes  cultivated  for  hay,  and  makes  an  article  of  line  quality. 

Sporobolus  airoides  (Bunch  Grass ;  S^ilt  Grass). 

Culms  (arising  from  strong  perennial  creeping  root-stocks)  2  to  3  feet  high,  thick- 
ened at  the  base  and  clothed  with  numerous  long,  rigid,  generally  involute,  long- 
pointed,  smooth  leaves,  which  are  bearded  in  the  throat  of  The  sheath.  The  panicle 
is  C  to  12  inches  long  and  3  to  4  inches  wide,  thin  and  spreading  ;  the  branches  cap-  rt 
illary,  and  scattered  or  in  whorls  below,  subdivided  above  the  middle,  and  rather 
sparsely  flowered. 

It  is  common  on  the  arid  plains  of  the  West,  is  sometimes  called  salt 
grass,  and  affords  persistent  pasturage  where  other  grasses  are  tramped 
but.     (Plate  105). 

Agrostis  exarata,  var.  Pacifica  (Pacific  Coast  Redtop). 

This  variety  grows  chietly  on  the  Pacific  coast,  from  California  to  Alaska.  It  is 
often  more  robust  than  the  common  or  eastern  redtop.  growing  2  to  '.)  feet  high,  with 
a  stout,  firm  culm,  clothed  with  three  or  four  broadish  leaves  4  to  <>  inches  long. 
The  panicle  is  4  to  6  inches  long,  rather  loose,  heavier,  and  closer  than  tic  proper 
species. 

There  is  reason  to  believe  that  tliis  species  can  be  made  to  supply  the 
same  valuable  place  on  the  Pacific  coast  that  the  A.  vulgaris  does  at 
the  East.     It  deserves  trial.     (Plate  10(3). 

Deschampsia  caespitosa  (Hair  Grass). 

This  is  an  exceedingly  varied  species,  having  a  wide  distribution  in 
this  and  other  countries.  It  is  somewhat  rare  east  of  the  Mississippi, 
but  on  the  elevated  plains  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  in  California 
and  Oregon  it  is  one  of  the  common  bunch  grasses  which  afford  pastur- 
age to  cattle  and  horses.  At  the  East  it  is  found  in  the  hilly  regions 
of  New  England  and  the  Alleghanies.  It  grows  in  bunches,  which  are 
firmly  rooted.  The  culms  are  2  to  4  feet  high.  The  root-leaves  are 
very  numerous,  long,  and  narrow.  The  panicle  is  very  handsome,  pre- 
senting a  purple  and  glossy  hue,  and  a  loose,  graceful  appearance.  Its 
cnlins  are  too  light  for  hay  -  making,  but  the  abundant  root  leaves  may 


108 

make  it  valuable  for  pasturage,  especially  in  the  arid  districts.    (Plate 
107.) 

Chloris  alba. 

An  annual  grass,  growing  in  tofts,  2  to  !_  feet  high,  smooth,  the  culms  branching 
and  bent  at  the  lower  joints:  the  leaves  are  numerous  and  rather  broad,  the  nppe 
sheaths  dilated  and  at  tir>t  inclosing  the  flower  spikes,  which  are  in  a  close  cluster, 
eight  to  fifteen  in  number  and  2  to  H  inches  long.  The  flowers  are  Bessile  am 
crowded  in  two  rows  on  one  side  of  The  spikes.  It  is  a  common  gras^  in  the  arid  dis 
tricts  of  Texas.  New  Mexico,  and  Arizona.  It  furnishes  a  large  amount  of  foliage; 
ami  may  prove  useful  in  localities  to  which  it  is  adapted.     (Plate  108.) 

Diplachne  dubia. 

A  perennial  grass  of  vigorous  growth,  growing  3  or  4  feet  high,  the  culms  rathe 
stout  and  erect,  with  an  abundance  of  foliage,  the  leaves  being  quite  long  and  nar 
row.  The  panicle  is  from  6  to  12  inches  long,  consisting  of  from  10  to  20  narrow 
spreading  spike>.  each  4  to  6  inches  long,  mostly  scattered  on  the  axis,  or 
or  three  together.  The  spikelets  are  three  to  rive-tlowered,  the  empty  glumes  linear 
lanceolate  and  acute.  The  flowering  glumes  are  oblong,  obtuse,  two-lobed,  and  smootl 
except  on  the  margins. 

Its  principal  range  is  in  the  South  west,  from  Texas  to  Arizona.     11 

is  a  promising'  grass,  and  should  receive  the  attention  of  agriculturists 

(Plate  109.) 

Melica. 

Spikelets  two  to  many-flowered  :  the  flowers  usually  convolute  around  each  other 
the  upper  one  small  and  imperfect:  the  empty  glumes  arc  membranaceous  and  awn 

38,  he  lower  one  three  to  five-nerved,  the  upper  five  to  nine-nerved,  the  lateral  nerv 
not  reaching  to  the  apex.  The  flowering  glumes  are  of  thicker  texture,  becoming 
coriaceous.  Bcarious  near  the  apex,  mostly  rounded  on  the  back,  live  to  nine-nerved 
the  lateral  nerves  not  reaching  the  apex,  the  central  one  sometimes  ending  in  a  shor 
point  or  even  in  a  long  awn  :  the  palets  shorter  than  their  glumes,  two-keeled  and  cil 
iate  on  the  keels.     Of  this  genus  we  have  ten  or  twelve  species. 

Melica  diffusa. 

A  perennial  species,  growing  in  rocky  woods  or  ravines  throughout  the  Rocky  Mount 
ains  in  Colorado  and  New  Mexico.  It  grow*  in  loose  tufts,  the  culms  about  2  feet  high 
the  lower  h  aves  and  sheaihs  soft  hairy,  the  upper  leaves  narrow,  3  to  4  inches  loin 
and  pointed.  The  panicle  is  0  or  8  inches  long.  open,  with  rather  few  (6-8)  branches 
3  to  4  inches  long,  rather  distant  from  each  other,  and  somewhat  spreading:  tin 
spikelets  are  large.  4  to  6  lines  long,  and  three  to" five-flowered,  the  upper  flower  im 
perfect.  The  empty  glumes  are  quite  unequal  and  much  shorter  than  the  spikelets 
The  dowering  glumes  are  many-nerved  below,  with  a  broad  scarious  margin  above 
The  palets  are  narrower  and  shorter  than  the  flowering  glumes  and  fringed  on  the 
keel. 

This  grass  is  relished  by  cattle,  but  as  its  preference  is  for  shaded 
places  it  may  not  be  adapted  for  general  culture.     (Plate  110.) 

Melica  bulbosa. 

This  species  is  distinguished  by  its  large  bulbous  roots,  or,  more  properly,  by  the 
bulb-like  enlargement  of  the  base  of  the  stem.  It  grows  2  to  3  feet-high,  the  leaves 
narrow,  scabrous,  and  becoming  involute.  The  panicle  is  narrow,  from  1  to  6  inche 
long,  with  short  appressed  branches.  The  spikelets  are  about  half  an  inch  long,  with 
five  to  Beven  perfect  flowers;  the  empty  glumes  are  three  to  four  lines  long,  or  nearly 


10!) 

as  long  as  fche  flow  •■]  ing  glumes,  which  are  oblong-lauci  olate,  si  veu-  u<  i  \  «■<!,  and  ob- 

t  use  or  notched  al  t  he  apex. 

This  species  grows  in  Oregon,  Washington,  California,  Nevada,  Mon- 
tana, Utah,  and  Colorado.     (Plate  111.) 

Melica  imperfecta. 

This  is  one  of  the  commonest  grasses  throughout  California,  particularly  in  fche 
eoutheru  portion.  There  are  several  varieties,  which  differ  considerably  in  size  and 
general  appearance.  The  culms  ait'  from  1  to  3  feel  high,  rather  slender  and  wiry, 
t lie  loaves  rather  numerous  and  narrow.  The  pani<  le  varies  from  6  to  12  iuches  in 
length,  sometimes  narrow,  but  usually  spreading,  with  rather  long  and  distant 
branches,  which  are  whorled  about  in  threes  of  unequal  length  and  numerously 
powered.  The  spikelets  have  one  or  two  perfect  flowers,  with  a  short,  club-shaped, 
imperfect  one.  The  empty  glumes  arc  shorter  than  fche  flowers  and  three  to  five- 
nerved,  the  flowering  glume  about  seven-nerved,  usually  purplish  and  acute.  It  is 
not  bulbiferous. 

The  larger  forms  of  this  grass  certainly  deserve  trial  for  culture  in 
California.     (Plate  lllV 

Uniola. 

This  genus  has  closely  many-flowered  spikelets,  usually  large,  very  flat,  and  two- 
edged,  one  or  more  of  the  lower  flowers  consisting  only  of  an  empty  glume;  the 
empty  glumes  are  closely  folded  together,  keeled,  rigid,  or  coriaceous;  the  flowering 

ones  are  of  similar  texture,  but  larger,   many-nerved,  usually  acute  and  entire,  the 
palet -rigid,  with  the  keels  narrowly  winged. 

Uniola  latifolia  (Broad  Leaved  Uniola  ;  Large-flowered  Oat  Grass). 

This  is  a  handsome  grass,  growing  2  to  3  feet  high,  witb  very  broad 
leaves  and  a  large  spreading  panicle.  The  drooping-  spikelets  are  larger 
than  those  of  any  other  North  American  grass,  being-  an  inch  or  more 
long  and  half  as  wide,  consisting-  often  or  twelve  flowers.' 

It  grows  from  Pennsylvania  to  Kansas  and  southward. 

Dr.  Charles  Mohr,  Mobile,  Ala.,  says  of  this  grass: 

A  line  vernal  grass  with  a  rich  foliage,  hlooming  early  in  May  ;  frequently  in  damp, 
sandy  loam,  forming  large  tufts.  This  perennial  grass  is  certainly  valuable,  affording 
an  abundant  range  early  in  the  season  ;  if  cultivated  it  would  yield  large  crops  ready 
for  cutting  from  the  1st  of  May.  It  is  called  by  some  wild  fescue  or  oat  grass.  1  am 
not  able  to  judge  of  its  value  as  a  pasture  grass. 

(Plate  113.) 

Glyceria  Canadensis  (Rattlesnake  Grass  ;  Tall  Quaking  Grass). 

Of  this  genus  two  species  have  been  already  described.  This  species  belongs  to  the 
northern  portion  of  the  United  States,  usually  found  in  mountainous  districts,  in 
swamps,  and  river- borders,  growing  in  large  tufts.  The  culms  are  stout,  about  3 
feet  high,  smooth  and  leafy.  The  leaves  are  6  to  9  inches  long,  the  lower  ones  often 
twice  as  long  and  quite  broad.  The  paniele  is  large  and  diffuse,  6  to  (J  inches  long, 
the  branches  long,  slender,  and  drooping.  The  branches  are  more  or  less  whorled, 
mostly  in  threes,  the  largest  3  to  4  inches  long,  and  often  subdivided.  The  spikelets 
are  oblong  or  ovate,  rather  turgid,  usually  six  to  eight-flowered. 

This  is  quite  an  ornamental  grass.  Cattle  are  fond  of  it,  both  green 
and  when  made  into  hay.  It  is  well  adapted  to  low  meadows  and  yields 
a  large  quantity  of  foliage. 


110 


Hon.  J.  S.  Gould  says: 


It  is  usually  found  at  high  elevations,  in  swampy  land,  and  by  the  margin  of  streams 
It  is  very  anl  to  grow  in  clumps.     Ir  is  one  of  the  most   beautiful  oi  and  is 

exceedingly  ornamental  in  grass  boquetS.     It  is  abundant  on  the  Catskill  and  White 

Mountains,  and  on  the  Raqnette  waters  of  the  Adirondacks.     Cattle  eat  it  very  well 
in  oast  uic  and  when  made  into  hay. 

(Plate  111.) 


I  N  I>  K  X 


Page. 

Agropyrum  glaucum 7,7") 

Agropyruni  lepens 7,  75 

Agropyrum  tenerum 70 

Agrogtis  alba 40 

Agrostis  canina .. 47 

Agrostis  exarata 47 

Agrostis  exarata  var.  Pacifica 107 

Agrostis  stolonifera 4fi 

Agrostis  vulgaris 40 

Alfalfa 84 

Alfilana 102 

Alkaline  grass 61 

Alopecurus  geniculatns 40 

Alopecuras  geniculatns,  var.  aristulatus 40 

Alopecurus  occidentalis 41 

Alopecurus  pratensis 40 

Ammophila  arundinacea 43 

Andropogon  furcatus 7,35 

Andropogou  Hallii 35 

Andropogon  macrourus '. 35 

Andropogan  provindalis 35 

Andropogou  scoparius    7, 35 

Andropogon  Virginicus 35 

A uthoxanthum  odoratuni 40 

Aristida  purpurea  41 

Arrhenatherum  avenaceum 52 

Arrow  grass '.  42 

A  r  undo  don  ax 00 

Arundinaria  tecta 78 

Austin  grass   . .  •■ 25 

A  vena  fat  ua 52 

Barley,  wild  70 

Barnyard  grass 27 

Beach  grass 48 

Beckinannia  erucaeformis 24 

BeU-fouutain 103 

Bent  grass    - 40 

Bentgrass,  Rhode  Island 47 

Bermuda  grass 54 

Blanket  grass 23 

Blue  grass,  Kentucky    00 

Blue  grass,  Texas 04 

Blue  t;rass,  English 65 

Blueprint 48,75 

Bin-  stem 35,  75 

Boutelona  oligostacbya 7,57 

Bouteloua  racemosa 7,57 

Brizopyrum  spicatum 62 

Bromus  ciliatns 74 

Bromns  Schraderi .'.  74 

Bromus  secalinus 73 

Bromus  unioioides 73 

Bromns  "Willdenovii 74 

Broom  corn  . . ,  — . . 37 


Page 

Broom  grass,  heavy-topped 35 

Broom  sedge 35 

Buchloe  dactyloidcs 

Buffalo  grass  25,  57,  .',u 

Bunch  grass 6,  35,  12,  72,  107 

Bur  clover  i 92 

Cactus 

Calamagrostis  Aleutica 7 

Calamagrostis  Canadensis 7,  1  -: 

Calamagrostis  longifolia 7,  49 

Calamagrostis  neglecta 7 

Calamagrostis  sylvatica 7,  19 

Canary  grass,  reed 38 

Canary  grass,  southern  reed 39 

Canary  grass,  Stewart's 39 

Cane,  small 78 

Cane,  switeli 78 

Ceratochloa  unioloidos 71 

Cheat 73 

Chess 73 

Chloris  alba 108 

Chrysopogon  nutans 7, 3G 

China  arundinacca. 17 

Cinna  pendula 47 

Clover,  Alsike 81 

Clover,  Brazilian 81 

Clover,  bur (J2 

Clover,  Chilian. 81 

Clover,  Dutch 82 

Clover,  Florida 103 

Clover,  French 82,  81 

Clover,  Japan 95 

(Mover,  mammoth 80 

Clover,  Mexican It 3 

Clover,  pin 103 

Clover,  red 79 

Clover,  running  buffalo 83 

Clover,  Spanish 103 

Clover,  white 82 

Cord  grass 50 

Corn,  broom 37 

Conch  grass 75 

Crab  grass 27, 58 

Crowfoot 62 

Cuba  grass 30 

Cut  grass 34 

Cynodon  Dactylon 5i 

Dactylis  glomerata 02 

Dactyloctenium  iEgyptiacum 58 

Darnel,  poison 75 

Deschampsia  csespitosa 6, 107 

Desmodium  molle U4 

Desmodinm  tortuosum 94 

Devil's  knitting  m-edles 42 

11! 


112 


Deyeuxia  Canadensis. . 
!)•  in  uxia  sylvatica   ... . 

Diplachu    tlubia 

Distich  I  is  marititna  ... 

Dotu  ra 

Egyptian  mass 

Eleusine  .Lgyptiaca . . . 

Eleusine  Cndioa 

Blymus  Canadensis  ... 
Elyiuu.s  condensatns  . 
Ely  ma  a  triticoides  .   . . 

Elymus  Virginicaa 

Eragrostia  A-byssinica 

Eragrostia  major 

Erodium  ciciitarinm  .. 

Esparsotto 

Euchlaeua  Luxurians.. . 

Eurotia  lanata 

Evergreen  grass 

False  rice    

Fescue,  meadow 

Fescue,  Bbeep's 

Fescue,  tail    

Festuca  elatior 

Festuca  ovina  

Festuca  pratensis 

Festuca  scabrella  . ... . 

Festuca  anioloidus 

Filaree 


Finotop 

Fioriu 

Fowl  meadow  grass 

Foxtail,  meadow 

Foxtail.  Rocky  Mountain  

Foxtail,  water 

Gi-ama  grass 

Gietta  grass  

Gilbert's  relief  grass 

Glyceria  arundinacea 

Glyceria  Canadensis 

Glyceria  flnitans 

Glyceria  nervata 

Goose   grass 

Grama,  black  

Grama  grass    

Green  Valley  grass    

Guinea  grass,  Alabama 

Guinea  grass,  true 

Hair  grass 

Herd's  grass   (of  Now   England  and  New 

York) 

Herd's  grass  (of  Pennsylvania) 

Hilaria  Jamesii    

Holcus  lanatus 

Hordeumjubatum 

Hordeum  murinnm 

Ilordeum  prat en se 

Hungarian  grass 

Indian  rice 

Johnsou  grass 

June  urasa 

Ivaderia  cristata 

Leersia  hexandra 

Leeraia  oryzoides 

Leersia  Virginica 


i- 

19 

108 

,<il 

37 
36 


Gl 
61 

102 
83 
30 

101 
52 
34 
71 

71 
71 

r,  72 

71 

r.  72 

74 
102 
4G 
46 
G7 
40 
41 
40 
30 
34 
39 
G9 
109 
70 
70 
25 
34 
3,57 
36 
36 
25 
107 

44 
46 
34 
50 
7G 


Page. 

Lespcdeza  b1  i  iata Of 

Lolium  polemic 74 

Lolium  temnloutum 75 

Louisiana  grass 23 

Lucerne. 81 

Lyme  grass 77 

Manna  grass,  floating  * 70 

Marsh  grass 56 

Meadow  grass,  fowl G7 

Meadow  grass,  nerved 70 

Meadow  grass,  reed 69 

Meadow  grass,  rough-stalked G8 

Meadow  -rass,  tall 69 

Meadow  oat  grass - 52 

Mean's  grass 36 

Medicago  denticulata 92 

Medicago  maculata 93 

Medicago  sativa 84 

Medick M 

Melica  bulbosa 108 

Melica  diffusa  108 

Melica  imperfecta  ^03 

Mesquite  6.57 

Milium  eflusum 43 

Millet,  Arabian  evergreen 36 

Millet,  Australian 36 

Millet,  cat  tail 30 

Millet,  Egyptian 30 

Millet,  ever.reen.. 36 

Millet,  German 29 

Millet,  Morocco 

Millet,  pearl 

Millet,  Texas 25 

Milletgrass 27 

Millo  maize 37 

Millo  maize,  red 38 

Muhlenbergia  comata   106 

Muhlenbergia  diffusa    43 

Muhlenbergia  glonn  rata 43 

Muhlenbergia  Mexicaua 43 

Muhlenbergia,  spiked  43 

Muhlenbergia  sylvatica —  41 

Mnnroa  squarrusa    

Nimble  Will '. ^ 

Oat  grass,  large  flowered 109 

Oat  grass,  meadow 

Oat  grass,  tall 

Oats,  wild 36.  52 

Onobrychis  sativa 81 

Opuntia  Engelmariui 98 

Opuntia  vulgaris --•  96 

Orchard  grass 62 

Oryzopsis  cuspidat  i  6,41 

Panic  grass,  t  wu-edged m 

Panic  grass,  t. ill   

Panicum  agros  t   ides   

Panicum  ancops      

Panicum  barbinode 

Panicum  Crus-galli 27 

Panicum  gibbuin 100 

Panicum  jximentorum 

Panicum  maximum '-' ' 

Panicum  miliaceum 

Panicum  proliferum,  var.  geniculatum.  ... 
Panicum   redtop 


113 


.  Pag* 

Panicnm  sanguinale 27 

Panicum  Texauuni 25 

Panicum  virgatura   28 

rass.- 26 

Parsley,  water 103 

Paspalum  dilatatnm 22 

Paspalutn  distich  inn  24 

Paspalum,  hairy- flowered 22 

Paspalum  ovatutn 

Paspalum  platycaulo  23 

Penicillaria  spicata 30 

PeDuisetum  spicatnra  -..  30 

Phalaris  arundinacea 38 

Phalaris  intermedia    39 

Phalaria  intermedia,  var.  angusta 39 

Phleum  pratenBe 44 

Pigeon  grass 30 

Pigeon  wind 103 

Pin  clover 102 

l'iu  grass '. 102 

Pragmites  communis —  60 

Poa  andina G9 

Poa  arachnifera 64 

Poa  compressa 65 

Poa  pratensis 66 

Poaserotina 6" 

Poa  tenoifolia 68 

Poa  trivialis 6S 

Poa  trivialis,  var.  occidentals  GO 

Poor  toe 103 

Porcupine  grass 42 

Prickly  pear 98 

Quack  grass 75 

Quaking  .mass,  tall 109 

Randall  grass TL 

Rattlesnake  grass 109 

Red  millo  maize 38 

Redtop 40 

Redtop,  Pacific  coast  1  7 

Redtop  Panicum 28 

Reed  grass 50 

Reed  mass,  giant GO 

Reed  grass,  snail 4* 

Reed  grass,  wood  47 

Relief  grass,  Gilbert's 39 

Rescue  grass 7:> 

Rice,  false 34 

Rice,  Indian 33 

Rice,  wild 33 

Richardsonia  scabra •. 103 

River  grass  25 

Rye  grass 77 

Rye  grass,  giant 77 

Rye  grass,  Italian 74 

Rye  grass,  wild 77 

Rye.  wild 77 

Saccatoo 42 

Sage,  white 101 

Sainfoin 83 

Salt  grass 5G,  61, 107 

Sand  grass 48 

Sarcobatus  vennieulatns 101 

Schrader's  grass 73 

Setaria  glauca  30 

3594  GR 8 


Setaria  Italics  2'.) 

i  viridis 30 

Slough  grass 2! 

Smut  grass  15 

s-.ii  prass   50 

Sorghum  halepense :;i» 

Sorghum,  sugar 37 

Sorghum  vulgare :;7 

Spartiua  cyuosuroides. 56 

Spartinajuncea 56 

Spear  grass GO 

Sporoholus  airoides 107 

Sporoholus  cryptandrua  45 

Sporoholus  heterolepis  107 

Sporoholus  Indicus ;". 

Sprouting  crab  grass 20 

Squirrel-tail  grass 70 

Stipa  avenacea ;: 

Stipa  comata 

Stipa  pi nnata ;_■ 

Stipa  setigera 6 

Stipa  spartea. 0,  41. 42 

Stipa  viridnla 0.41 

Storksbill 102 

Sweet  vernal  grass 39 

Switch  cane 78 

Switch  grass 28 

Teff-... 61 

Teosinte 31 

Terrell  grass   77 

Timothy 44 

Timothy,  Ca]        ;;:) 

Trefoil,  Spanish 84 

Trifolium  hybridum 81 

Trifolium  incarnatum 82 

Trifolium  medium 80 

:                                    79 

Tiii'olimu  repens 82 

Trifolium  stoloniferum 82 

Triodia  acuminata 59 

Triodia  sesleroides 59 

Triodia  stricta 59 

Triodia  Texana 59 

Tripsacnm  dactyloidea 30 

Trisetum  palustre 51 

Tris<  turn  subspicatum 51 

Uniola,  hroad  leaved 109 

Uniola  latifolia 109 

Velvet  glass 50 

Velvet  nn  isquite  50 

Vernal  grass,  sweet 40 

Water  parsley 103 

White  grass 34 

White  grass,  small-flowered  34 

White  Bag-i 101 

Wild  barley 76 

Wild  oats    36,  52 

Wildrice  33 

Wild  rye 77 

Wire  grass  35.  107 

Wood  reed  grass .47, 58, 65 

Yard  grass ^>'S 

Zacate 34 

Zizauica  aquatica 33 


NOTE. 

It  has  been  thought  well  to  attach  to  the  foregoing,  in  the  form  of  an 
appendix,  a  report  of  Mr.  Clifford  Richardson,  formerly  Assistant 
Chemist  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  on  the  Chemical  Composi- 
tion of  American  Grasses,  from  investigations  made  by  him  in  the 
laboratory  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  1878-1882. 

The  appendix  also  includes,  for  the  benefit  of  those  readers  who  may 
wish  to  familiarize  themselves  with  them,  a  glossary  of  the  botanical 
terms  used  in  describing  grasses. 

115 


APPENDIX. 


THE  CHEMICAL  COMPOSITION 


OF 


AMERICAN  GRASSES 


FROM 


INVESTIGATIONS  IN  THE  LABORATORY  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF 
AGRICULTURE,  1878-1882. 


CLIFFORD    RICHARDSON. 

FORMERLY  ASSISTANT  CHEMIST. 


ir 


THE  CHEMICAL  COMPOSITION  OF  AMERICAN"  GRASSES. 


In  submitting  grasses  to  chemical  analysis,  with  a  view  of  judging  of 
their  nutritive  value,  it  is  usual  to  determine  the  amount  present  of 
water,  ash,  fat  or  oil,  liber,  and  nitrogen.  From  the  latter  the  amount  of 
albuminoids  to  which  it  is  equivalent  is  readily  calculated  by  multiply- 
ing by  a  factor  which  represents  the  percent,  of  nitrogen  present  in  the 
average  albuminoid,  and  by  substracting  the  sum  of  all  these  constitu- 
ents from  one  hundred,  the  percentage  of  undetermined  matter  is  ob- 
tained, and  as  it  of  course  contains  no  nitrogen,  and  consists  of  the  ex- 
tractive principles  of  the  plant,  it  is  described  as  "Nitrogen  free  extract." 
It  includes  all  the  carbo-hydrates,  such  as  sugar,  starch,  and  gum,  to- 
gether with  certain  other  allied  substances,  with  which  we  are  less  in- 
timately acquainted,  but  which  have  a  certain  nutritive  value. 

Although  it  has  been  customary  to  state  as  albuminoids  the  equiva- 
lent of  the  nitrogen  found,  this  is  rarely  entirely  correct,  as  a  portion  is 
generally  present  in  a  less  highly  elaborated  form  of  a  smaller  nutritive 
value.  This  portion  is  described  as  non-albuminoid  nitrogen,  and  in 
analyses  of  the  present  day  the  amount  is  always  given  as  an  additional 
source  of  information,  although  our  knowledge  of  its  exact  value  to  the 
animal  is  rather  uncertain. 

The  ultimate  composition  of  the  ash  is  also  frequently  determined, 
and  examples  of  the  results  obtained  are  of  interest  as  showing  the  min- 
eral matter  that  grasses  withdraw  from  the  soil. 

Without  entering  into  a  discussion  of  the  nutritive  value  of  the  several 
constituents  ot  the  grasses,  for  which  reference  can  be  made  to  Armsby's 
Manual  of  Cattle  Feeding,  it  is  sufficient  to  say  that  during  the  past  few 
years  the  greater  portion  of  the  species  described  by  Dr.  Vasey  in  the 
preceding  portion  of  this  Bulletin  have  been  analyzed,  and  the  results 
collected  and  re-arranged,  with  some  corrections,  from  the  annual  reports 
of  the  Department  are  presented  in  the  following  pages. 
.  The  first  series  consists  of  analyses  made  with  specimens  collected  at 
or  near  the  time  of  blooming.     Their  origin  is  as  follows: 

No.  of  anal. 

1.  Paspalum  Iceve  (Water  Grass).     From  Prof.  S.  B.  Buckley,  Austin,  Tex.     1^78. 

2.  Paspalum  la  re  (Water  Grass).      From   the   Eastern    Experimental   Farm,  West 

Grove,  Chester  County,  Pa.     1880,  August  23-29. 

3.  Paspalum  dilatatum.     From  S.  L.  Goodale,  Saco,  Me.     1880. 

4.  Pa  si)  a  I  urn  praecox.     From  Charles  Mohr,  Mobile,  Ala.     1879. 

119 


120 

No.  of  annl. 

5.  Panicum  filiforme.     From  Charles  Mohr,  Mobile,  Aia.     1878. 
(>.  Panicum  sanguinale  (Crab  Grass).     From  Charles  Mohr,  Mobile,  Ala.     1878. 

7.  Panicum  sanguinale  (Crab  Grass).     From  the  grounds  of  the  Department.     Jane 

23,  1880. 

8.  Panicum  sanguinale  (Crab  Grass).     From  the  Eastern  Experimental  Farm,  West 

Grove,  Chester  County,  Pa.     August  It,  1880. 

9.  Panicum  maximum.     From  Charles  Mohr,  Mobile,  Ala.     1878. 

10.  Panicum  Tcxanum  (Texas  Millet).     From  Prof.  8.  B.  Buckley,  Austin,  Tex.    1879. 

11.  Panicum  proliferum  (Large  Crab  Grass).     "  Very  ripe  and  rank."    From  Charles 

Mohr,  Mobile,  Ala.     1879. 

12.  Panicum  agrostoides  (Marsh  Panic).     From  W.  S.  Robertson,  Muscogee,'  Ind.  T. 

1879. 

13.  Panicum  anccps.     From  Charles  Mohr,  Mobile,  Ala.     1879. 

14.  Panicum  dnceps.      From   the    Eastern   Experiment  Farm,   West    Grove,    Chester 

County,  Pa.     July  31,  1880. 

15.  Panicum  Crus-galli  (Barnyard  Grass).     From  Charles  Mohr,  Mobile,  Ala.     1879. 
1(>.  Panicum  Crus-galli  (Barnyard  Grass).     From  Prof.  S.  B.  Buckley,  Austin,  Tex. 

17.  Panicum  Crus-galli  ( Cock'sfoot).     From   the  Eastern  Experimental  Farm,  West 

Grove,  Chester  County,  Pa.     August  25,  1880. 

18.  Panicum  virgatum  (Panic  Grass).    From  W.  S.  Robertson,  Muscogee,  Ind.  T.    1879. 

Low  growth. 

19.  Panicum  virgatum  (Tall  Panic  or  Switch  Grass).     From  Prof.  S.  B.  Buckley,  Aus- 

tin, Tex.     1878. 

20.  Panicum  virgatum  (Tall  Panic  or  Switch  Grass).     From  Charles  Mohr,  Mobile,  Ala. 

1878. 

21.  Panicum  virgatum  (Tall  Panic  or  Switch  Grass).     From  W.  S.  Robertson,  Musco- 

gee, Ind.  T.     1879.    Tall  growth. 

22.  Panicum  divarication.     From  Charles  Mohr,  Mobile,  Ala.     1879. 

23.  Panicum  gibbum.     From  Charles  Mohr,  Mobile,  Ala.     1879. 

24.  Panicum  obtusum.     From  Prof.  S.  B.  Buckley,  Austin,  Tex.     1878. 

2.">.  Panicum  capillare  (Witch Grass).     From  W,  S.  Robertson,  Muscogee,  Ind. T.     1879. 

26.  Panicum  dichotomum.     From  Charles  Mohr,  Mobile,  Ala.     1879. 

27.  Setaria  Italica.     From  the   Eastern   Experimental  Farm,  West   Grove,  Chester 

County,  Pa.     July  24,  1880. 

28.  Setaria  glauca  (Fox-tail).     From  the  grounds  of  the  Department.     July  24,  1880. 

29.  Setaria  glauca  (Fox-tail).     From  the  Eastern  Experimental  Farm,  West.  Grove, 

Chester  County,  Pa.     August  11,  1880.      * 

30.  Setaria  seiosa  (Bristle  Grass).     From  Prof.  S.  B.  Buckley,  Austin,  Tex.     1878.    . 

31.  Tripsacum  dactyloidcs  (Gama  Grass).     From  D.  L.  Phares,  Woodville,  Miss.    1878. 

32.  Tripsacum  dactyloidcs  (Gama  Grass).     From  the  Eastern  Experimental  Farm,  West 

Grove,  Chester  County,  Pa.     1880. 

33.  Spartina  cynosuroides  (Whip  Grass).     From  A.  C.  Lathrop,  Glen  wood,  Pope  County, 

Minnesota.     1879. 

34.  Spartina  cynosuroides  (Whip  Grass).     From  J.  I).  Waldo,  Quincy,  111.     1879. 

35.  Spartina  cynosuroides  (Whip  Grass).     From  W.   S.  Robertson,   Muscogee,  Ind.  T. 

1879. 
30.  Andropogon  Virginicus  (Brown  Sedge,  Sedge  Grass).     From  Prof.  S.  B.  Buckley, 
Austin,  Tex.     1878. 

37.  Andropogon  scoparius.     From  Charles  Mohr,  Mobile,  Ala.     1879.     Before  bloom. 

38.  Andropogon  scoparius  (Broom  Grass).     From  Charles  Mohr,  Mobile,  Ala.     1878. 

39.  Andropogon  scoparius.     From  W.  8.  Robertson,   Muscogee,  Ind.  T.     1879. 

40.  Andropogon  macrourus  (Broom  Grass).     From  Charles  Mohr,  Mobile,  Ala. 

41.  Andropogon  furcatus  (Blue  joint  Grass).     From  A.  C.  Lathrop,  Glenwood,  Pope 

County,  Minn.     1879. 


121 

No  of  ana] 

42.  Andropogon  furcatus  (Blue  joint).     From  D.  II.  Wheeler,  Nebraska.     1879. 

43.  Andropogon  furoatus  (Bine  joint).  From  W.S.  Robertson, Muscogee,  Iml.T.   1879. 
44'.  Andropogon  furcatua  (Bine  joint  Grass).     From  the  Eastern  Experimental  Farm, 

West  Grove,  Chester  County,  Pa.    September  2,  1880. 
45.  Andropogon  argenteua  (Silver  Beard  Grass).    From  W.  S.  Robertson,  Muscogee, 

Ind.  T.     1880. 
46*.  Sorghum  halepenae  (Johnson  Grass).     From  Charles  Mohr,  Mobile,  Ala.     1878. 
47.  Sorghum  nutans.    From  W.  S.  Robertson,  Muscogee,  Ind.  T,     L879. 
■i-\  Sorghum  nutans  (Wood Grass).     From  Prof.  8.  15.  Buckley,  Austin  Tex.     1878. 

49.  Phalaris  intermedia,  var.  angusia  (American  Canary  Grass).     From  South  Caro- 

lina, 1879. 

50.  Anthoxanthum  odoratum  (Sweet  Vernal  Grass).    From  James  O,  Adams,  Manches- 

ter, N.  II.     1H70. 

51.  Anthoxanthum  odoratum  (Sweet  Vernal  Grass).     From  the  Eastern  Experimental 

Farm,  West  Grove,  Chester  County.  Pa.     May    11-24,  1880. 

52.  Anthoxanthum  odoratum  (Sweet  Vertfal  Grass).    From  the  grounds  of  the  Depart- 

ment.    May  1,  L880. 

53.  Eierochloa  borealis  (Vanilla  Grass).     From  E.  Hall,  Athens,  111.     1878. 

f>4.  Alopecurus pratensis  ( Meadow  Fox-tail).     From  the  grounds  ofthe  Department. 

May  1,  1880. 
55.  Ari8tida purpurascen s  (Purple  Beard  Grass).     From  W.  S.  Robertson,  Muscogee, 

Ind.  T. 
50.  Milium  effusum.     From  C.  G.  Pringle,  Hazen's  Notch,  Vt.    1880. 

57.  Muhlenbergia  diffusa  (Dropseed  Grass).     From  Prof.  S.  B.  Buckley,  Austin,  Tex. 

1878. 

58.  Muhlenbergia  diffusa  (Dropseed  Grass).     From  the  Eastern  Experimental  Farm, 

West  Grove,  Chester  Grove,  Pa.     Aug.  25,  1880. 
HO.  Muhlenbergia  Mexicana.     From  Eastern  Experiment  Farm,  West  Grove,  Chester 

County,  Pa,     August  22,  1880. 
60.  Muhlenbergia  glomerata  (Satin  Grass).    From   A.   C.  Lathrop,  Glen  wood,  Pope 

County,  Minn.     1870. 

01.  Muhlenbergia  sp.?  (Knot  Grass).     From  James  O.  Adams,  Manchester,  N.  If.  1879. 

02.  Phleum  pratense  (Timothy,  Herd's  Grass).    From  the  grounds  ofthe  Department. 

June,  18,  1880. 

03.  Phleum  pratense  (Timothy).     From  the  grounds  of  the  Department.     Wayside 

growth.     Jnno..4,  1680. 
01.   Phleum  pratense  (Timothy),    from  the  grounds  ofthe  Department.     June  26, 

1882.     First  year's  growth  from  seed. 
05.   Phleum  pratense  (Timothy).     From  the  Eastern  Experimental  Farm,  West  Grove. 

Chester  County,  Pa.     June  20,  1880. 
GO.  Phleum  pratense  (Timothy,  Herd's  Grass).     From  J.  W.  Sanborn,  Hanover,  N.  II. 

1881. 
07.  Phleum  pratense  (Timothy).     From  W.  II.  Haekstatf,  La  Fayette,  Ind.     1882. 
68.   Phleum  pratense  (Timothy).     From  J.   M.   Robinson,  Queen  Anne  County,  Md. 

July  4,  1882.     Unmanured  for  years. 
00.  Sporobolus  Indieus  (Sweet  Grass).     From  D.  L.  Phares,  Woodville,  Miss.     1878. 

70.  Afjrostis  vulgaris  (Redtop,  Herd's  Grass).     From  the  grounds  of  the  Department 

June  23,  1880. 

71.  Agrostis  vulgaris  (Redtop).     From  the  grounds  of   the   Department.     Wayside 

growth.    June  18,  1880. 

72.  Agrostis  vulgaris  (Herd's  Grass).     From  the  Eastern  Experimental  Farm,  West 

Grove,  Chester  County,  Pa. 

73.  Agrostis  vulgaris  (Redtop),     From  J.  J.  Rosa,  Milford,  Del. 

74.  Agrostis  exarata  (Native  Redtop).     From  Theo.  Louis,  Louisville,  Wis.     1878. 


122 


No.  of  anal. 
7f>.   Cinna  arundinacea  (Reed  Grass).     Prom  W  S.  Robertson,  Muscogee,  Inrt.  T. 
70.   Holcu8  lanaiua  (Velvet  Grass).     From  the  grounds  of  the  Department.     May  25, 
L880. 

77.  Avena  striata  (Mountain  Oat  Grass).     From  Cyrus  G.  Pringle,  Charlotte,  Vt. 

1879. 

78.  Arrhenatkerum  avenaceum  (Oat  Grass).     From  the  grounds  of  the  Department. 

May  25,  1880. 
70.  Arrhenathcrum  avenaceum  (Oat  Grass).     From  Dr.  W.  C.  Benbow,  Greensborough, 
N.  C.     Late  bloom.     May  12,  1880. 

80.  Danlhonia  spicata  (Wild  Oat  Grass).     From  James  O.  Adams,  Manchester,  \. 

II.     1879. 

81.  Dan thonia  compressa (Wild  Oat  Grass).     From  Cyrus  G.   Pringle,  Charlotte  Vt. 

1847. 

82.  Cynodon  Daetylon  (Bermuda  Grass)     From  Charles  Mohr,  Mobile,  Ala.     1878. 

83.  Cynodon  Daetylon  (Bermuda  Grass.)    From  D.  L.  Phares,  Woodville,  Miss.    1878. 

84.  Bouteloua  oligostachya  (Gramma  Grass).     From  A.  C.  Lathrop,  Glenwood,  Pope 

County,  Minn.,  1879. 

85.  Eleusine  Indica  (Yard  Grass,  Crowfoot  Grass).    From  Prof.  S.  B.  Buckley,  Austin, 

Tex. 

86.  Eleu8ine  Indica  (Yard  Grass,  etc.).     From  Dr.  W.  A.  Cresswell,  Americus,  Ga. 

1878. 

87.  Eleusine  Indica  (Yard  Grass,  etc.).     From  Charles  Mohr,  Mobile,  Ala.     1878. 

88.  Leptocheoa  mucronata  (Feather  Grass).     From  Prof.  8.  B.  Buckley,  Austin,  Tex. 

1878. 
HO.    Triodia  purpurea  (Sand  Grass).     From  W.  S.  Robertson,  Muscogee,  Ind.  T.  1879. 

90.  Triodia    seslerioides  (Tall  Redtop).      From  Prof.  S.   B.   Buckley,   Austin,    Tex. 

1878. 

91.  Uniola  lalifolia  (Fescue  Grass).     From  Charles  Mohr,  Mobile,  Ala.     1879. 

92.  Uniola  latifolia  (Fescue  Grass).     From  M.  S.  Robertson,  Muscogee,  Ind.  T.    1879. 
0LJ.  Dactylis  glomerata  (Orchard  Grass).     From  James  O.  Adams,  Manchester,  N.  H. 

1879. 
04.   Dactylis  glomerata  (Orchard  Grass).     From  the  grounds  of  the  Department,  May 

13,   1880.     First  growth. 
95.   Dactylis  glomerata  (Orchard  Grass).     From  the  grounds  of  the  Department,  June 

18,  1880.     Later  growth. 
9G.  Dactylis  glomerata  (Orchard  Grass).    From  the  Eastern  Experimental  Farm,  West 

Grove,  Chester  County,  Pa.     1880.  a 

07.  Dactylis  glomerata  (Orchard  Grass).     From  W.  EL  Cheek,  Warren  County,  N.  C# 

Early  bloom.     May  16,  1880. 
98.  Dactylis  glomerata   (Orchard  Grass).     From  Dr.  W.  C.  Beubow,  Greensborough, 

N.  C.     1880.     Early  bloom,  May  12. 
00.  Dactylic  glomerata  (Orchard  Grass).     From  S.  L.  Goodale,  Saco,  Me.     1880. 

100.  Poapratensis    (Blue  Grass,   June  Grass).      From   Theo.    Louis,   Louisville,  «Wis. 

1878. 

101.  roa  pratensis   (Blue  Grass,  etc.)     From  James   O.  Adams,   Manchester,  X.  If. 

1870. 

102.  Poa  }>ratensis  (Blue  Grass,  etc.).     From  the  grounds  of  the  Department.     May  28. 

1880.     Growth  from  best  soil. 

103.  Poa  )>ratcnsis  (Blue  Grass,  etc.).     From  the  grounds  of  the  Department.     May  8, 

1880.     Growth  from  poorer  soil. 

104.  Poa  prat en  sis  (Blue  Grass,  etc. ).     From  the  grounds  of  the  Department.     May  10, 

1880.     Growth  by  wayside. 

105.  Poa  pratensis  (Blue  Grass,  etc.)     From  J.  D.  Waldo,  Quincy,  111.     May  17, 1880. 
10(5.  Poa  jiratensis  (Bine  Grass,  etc.).     From   W.  B.   Cheek,    Warren   County,   N.  C. 

1880.     Before  bloom. 


12.°, 

No.  of  anal. 

107.  Poa  pratentis  (Blue  Grass,  etc.)-     From  the  Eastern  Experimental  Farm,  West 

Grove,  Chester  Connty,  Pa.     1880. 

108.  Poa  compressa  (English  Blue  Grass,  Wire  Grass).     From  James  O.  Adams,  Man 

Chester,  N.  H.     1879. 

109.  Poa  compressa  (English   Bine  Grass).     From   the  grounds  of  the  Department. 

June  17.  L880. 

110.  Poa  compre88a  (English    Blue  Grass).     From  the  Eastern  Experimental  Farm, 

West  Grove.  Chester  Con uty,  Pa.     June  10,  1880. 

111.  Poa  compre8sa  (English  Blue  Grass).     From  J.  J.  Rosa,  Milford,  Del.     June  6, 

1880. 

112.  Poa  serotina  (Fowl  Meadow  Grass,  False  Redtop).    From  Theo.  Louis.  Louisville, 

Wis.     1878'. 

113.  Poa  arachnifera.     From  Ellis  Connty,  Tex.     1882. 

114.  Poa  ahodes.    From  the  Eastern  Experimental  Farm.  West  Grove,  Chester,  County, 

Pa.     Juno  2,  1880. 

115.  Glyceria  aquatica  (Reed  Meadow  Grass).     From  Cyrus  G.  Pringle,  Charlotte,  Vt. 

*  1879. 

116.  Glyceria  nervata  (Fowl  Meadow  Grass).     From  Cyrus  G.  Pringle,  Charlotte,  Vt. 

L879. 

117.  Glyceria  nervata  (Fowl  Meadow  Grass).      From  James  O.  Adams,   Manchester, 

N.  H.     1879. 

118.  Glyceria  nervata  (Fowl  Meadow  Grass).     From  the  Eastern  Experimental  Farm, 

West  Grove,  Chester  County,  Pa.     June  2,  1880. 

119.  Festuca  ovinia  (Sheep's  Fescue).      From  James  O.    Adams,   Manchester,   N.  II 

1879. 

120.  Festuca  ovinia  (Sheep's  Fescue).     From  the  grounds  of  the  Department.     May  21 

1880. 

121.  Festuca  clatior  (Meadow  Fescue).     From  the  Eastern  Experimental  Farm,  West 

Grove,  Chester  County,  Pa.     June  2,  1880. 

122.  Festuca  pratensis  (Meadow  Fescue).    From  James  O.  Adams,  Manchester,  N.  TT 

1879. 

123.  Festuca pratensis  (Field  Fescue).     From  the  grounds  of  the  Department.     June 

1,  1880.     After  bloom. 

124.  Bromus   secalinus  (Cheat,  Chess).     From   James  O.  Adams,  Manchester,  N.   H. 

1879. 

125.  Bromua  unioloides  (Schrader's  Grass).     From  the  grounds   of  the  Department. 

1879. 

126.  Bromua  unioloides  (Schrader's  Grass).     From  the  grounds  of  the  Department. 

May  13,  1880. 

127.  Bromus  erectus  (Chess).     From  the  grounds  of  the  Department.     May  19,  1880. 

128.  Uromus  carinatus  (California Brown-grass).     From  E.  Hall,  Athens,  111.     1878. 

129.  Lolium  perenne  (Common  Darnel,  Ray,  or  Rye  Grass).     From  the  grounds  of  the 

Department.     June  1,  1880. 

130.  Folium  perenne  (Rye  Grass,  etc.).     From  the  Eastern  Experimental  Farm,  West 

Grove,  Chester  County,  Pa. 

131.  Lolium  Italicum   (Italian  Rye  Grass).     From  the  grounds  of  the  Department. 

May  26,  1882. 

132.  Agropyrum  repem  (Couch,   Quitch,  or  Quack  Grass).     From  James  O.  Adams. 

Manchester,  N.  H.     1879. 

133.  Agropyrum  repem  (Couch  Grass,  etc.).     From  the  Eastern  Experimental  Farm, 

West  Grove,  Chester  County,  Pa. 

134.  Agropyrum  repens  (Couch  Grass).     From  S.  L.  Goodale,  Saco,  Me.     1880. 

135.  Agropyrum  ripens  (Conch  Grass,  etc.).     From  the  grounds  of  the  Department. 

June  23,  1880.     Early  bloom. 

136.  Elymus  canadensis  (Wild  Rye  Grass).     From  D.  H.  Wheeler,  Nebraska.     1879. 


124 


Tlie  specimens,  it  will  bo  soon,  are  from  all  parts  of  the  country  and 
grown  under  every  condition  of  soil  and  environment.  Those  collected 
by  Dr.  Peter  Collier  in  1878  and  1879  were  mostly  from  the  poorer 
soils,  and  were  intended  to  represent  the  wild  grasses  of  the  country. 
Those  collected  in  subsequent  years  by  myself  were  chiefly  cultivated 
varieties.  The  development  in  nearly  every  case  was  full  bloom  or 
shortly  after,  that  being  the  period  at  which  the  grasses  as  a  whole 
M'cin  to  be  cut  for  hay. 

The  analyses  have  been  calculated  for  u  dry  substance,"  and  also  for 
"fresh  grass."  where  the  amount  of  water  in  the  fresh  grass  had  been 
determined  ;  otherwise,  for  the  average  amount  of  water  in  hay  as  given 
by  Wolff.  This  figure  is  probably  too  high  for  the  United  States,  owing 
to  our  drier  climate;  but,  in  the  absence  of  exact  data  for  the  selection 
of  a  more  accurate  one,  it  has  been  provisionally  accepted.  It  is  very 
easy  to  calculate  from  the  composition  of  the  dry  substance  what  effect, 
the  presence  of  any  percentage  of  water  would  have  on  the  absolute 
amount  of  any  constituent  present  in  a  given  weight  of  grass. 


125 


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129 

The  great  variation  in  com  posit  ion  of  grasses  becomes  apparent  on  ex. 
ainining  the  one  hundred  and  thirty-six  analyses  ;  and  by  selecting  the 
Lighest  and  lowest  determinations  the  following  table  of  extremes  has 
been  prepared : 

Limits  of  composition  of  yrasscs. 


Dry  substance. 


Ash 

Fat 

Nitrogen-free  extract 

Crude  li  ber 

Albuminoids 

Nitrogen — 

Non-albuiniiioid  nitrogen 

Per  cent,  of  nitrogen  as  non-albuminoid 
Water  in  fresh  grass 


Highest 

4 

19.  24 

5.77 
GO.  01 
37.  72 
23.13 

Lowest. 

3.  57 

1.48 

34.01 

17.08 

2.80 

3.70 

1.  64 

60.  70 

76.50 

.45 

.00 

.00 

60.  00 

The  highest  ash  is  undoubtedly  owing*  to  the  presence  of  adherent 
soil,  and  the  lowest  carbo-hydrates  are  dependent  relatively  on  the 
saint4  cause.  The  wide  variations  in  fiber  and  albuminoids  must  be  re- 
garded, however,  as  being  entirely  due  to  physiological  causes,  which 
are  difficult  to  explain.  Panicum  sanguinale,  for  instance,  which  in  one 
specimen  contains  the  extreme  amount  of  albuminoids  and  a  small 
amount  of  fiber  has  in  another  only  half  as  much  albumen  and  one  and 
three  quarter  times  as  much  fiber.  We  learn,  then,  that  species  are  not 
in  themselves  at  all  lixed  in  their  composition,  there  being  as  large  vari- 
ations among  specimens  of  the  same  as  between  specimens  of  different 
species.  Examples  may  be  found  in  several  portions  cf  the  preceding 
tables,  and,  for  illustration,  several  analyses  of  Phleum  pratense  and  of 
Dactylis  glome  rata  from  widely  separated  localities  are  given  in  the 
following  tables :  • 

Analyses  of  Phleum  pratense  (Timothy)  from  various  localities. 
FULL  BLOOM. 


Locality. 


Department  garden,  1881 

Department  garden,  1880 

Maryland . 

New  Hampshire 

Indiana 

3594  gk 9 


7.10 
5.0i 
4.93 

4.57 

7.05 


M 

1) 

© 

a  a 

bt*3 

cs 

l=H 

^ 

4.47 

50.  03 

3.  58 

58.  03 

4.  22 

52.  83 

4.20 

57.  10 

2.18 

52.  99 

27.35 
21.93 
30.43   | 
28.28 
32.26 


10.99 
9.  90 
7.09 


1.75 

1 .  58 
1.23 

.9! 

.88 


a  a 
a  5c 


.51 
.38 
.15 

.  in 
.00 


c*  a 

E  5 


29.1 
24.0 

1 2.  2 
10.8 

.0 


130 

Analyses  of  Dachjlis  glomcrata  (Orchard  grass)  from  various  localities 
FULL  LL(  OM. 


►4 

• 

~.  = 

- 
o 

it 
j.  at 

-  - 
i  — 

a 

o 

=    =    T. 

m 

T.~Z 

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© 
ja 

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o 

a 

S 

p 
— 

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= 

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0 

a  = 

o 

• 

< 

- 

ft 

o 

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9.53 

H 

ft 

C* 

7.42 
8.07 

3.56 

3.24 

56.03 
53.76 

23.08 
25.  40 

1.58 
1.53 

.30 
.16 

19  0 

Distiict  of  Columbia  

10.5 

8.02 
6.00 
6.33 

3.  39 

3.62 
2.66 

54.80 
57.  34 
54.  99 

26.  05 
24.  42 
27.51 

8.74 
8.62 
8.56 

1.40 

1.38 
!  1.37 

.36 
.42 
.51 

25.7 

30.4 

Pennsylvania 

37.2 

8.44 

3.49 

54.75 

24.91 

8.41 

1.35 

.42 

30.9 

AVERAGE. 


Five  localit ies 7.  38 


3.33 


55.17 


25.19 


8.91 


1.43 


,  36 


25.2 


The  average  composition  of  American  grasses,  as  derived  from  the 
preceding  analyses  of  grasses  in  bloom,  and  averages  for  different  sec- 
tions of  the  country,  lias  been  calculated.  The  results  presented  in  the 
following  table,  with  Wolff's  averages  for  German  grasses,  are  of  inter- 
est: 

Average  comjwsition  of  grasses. 


American  : 

United  States 

North  of  Potomac. . . 

South 

Middle  West 

West  of  Mississippi 
German  (Wolff): 

Fair 

Good 

Very  good 


o  a> 

.3 

a 

a 
ft 


135 
70 
27 


7.97 
7.64 

8.80 
8     7.12 

30      8. 23 


6.30 
7.23 
8.24 


3.14 
3.44 
2.74 


2.34 
2.92 
3.29 


K 

© 

o 

JO 

g  u 

ca 

fc£~ 

rz 

3 

ft 

u 

53.97 

25.71 

55.01 

23.  70  ! 

52.  55 

26.68  ' 

54.  58 

25.  39 

52.  67 

29.60 

46.53 

34.09 

47.84 

30.  69 

48.93 

25.77 

9.21 
10.21 
9.23 
9.95 
6.64 


10.74 

11 

32 

13 

77 

1.47 
1.63 
1.47 
1.60 
1.06 

1.72 
1.81 
2.20 


.45 
.32 
.56 
.41 
.41 


cs  a 
5  a 


a  "  = 

8&g 


30.6 
19.6 
38.1 
25.  6 
38.7 


The  different  sections  furnish  very  different  qualities  of  grasses,  and 
for  the  reason  that  those  from  the  Xorth  were  almost  entirely  from  cul- 
tivated soil,  while  those  from  the  other  sections  were  inauy  or  most  of 
them  wild  species  from  old  sod.  The  improvement  brought  about  by 
cultivation  is  marked,  and  the  difference  between  a  ton  of  wild  Western 
and  Eastern  cultivated  hay  is  apparent. 

In  comparison  with  German  grasses  onr  best  do  not  equal  in  amount 
of  albuminoids  those  classed  by  Wolff  as  fair,  but  they  are  far  superior 
in  having  a  much  smaller  percentage  of  liber  and  consequently  a  larger 


131 

amount  of  digestible  carbo-hydrates.     In  the  grasses  of  both  countries 
the  liber  increases  with  regularity  as  the   nitrogenous   constitutents 

decrease,  and  of  the  la  tier  the    non-albuminoid   portion  is  relatively 
great  the  poorer  the  quality  of  the  grass, 

CHANGES    IN    COMPOSITION   DURING   GROWTH. 

In  addition  to  the  single  analysis  previously  tabulated,  analyses 
have  been  made  of  series  illustrating  the  changes  in  composition  of 
several  species  from  the  appearance  of  the  blade  to  the  maturity  of  the- 
seed. 

The  grasses  examined  comprise  : 

I.  Agrostis  vulgaris.    (Redtop.) 

A  series  from  richer  soil. 
A  series  from  poorer  soil. 
II.  Phleum  pratense.     (Timothy.) 
A  series  from  richer  soil. 
A  series  from  poorer  soil. 

A  series  of  first  year's  growth  from  seed  sown  in  garden  soil. 
A  series  from  La  Fayette,  Iud. 
A  series  from  Hanover,  N.  H.,  the  two  latter  from  rather  poor  soil. 

III.  Dactylis  glomerata.     (Orchard  Grass.) 

A  series  from  the  first  growth. 
A  series  from  later  growth. 

IV.  Alopecurus pratensis.     (Meadow  Fox  tail.) 

A  series  from  good  sod. 
V.  Poa  pratenses.     (Bine  Grass,  Meadow  Grass.) 
A  series  from  good  soil. 
A  series  from  poorer  soil. 
A  series  from  the  wayside. 
A  series  from  Qnincy,  111. 
VI.  Poa  compressa.     (Wire  Grass. 

A  series  from  poor  soil. 
VII.  Bromus  unioloides.     (Schrader's  Grass.) 

A  series  from  rich,  garden  soil. 
VIII.  Bromus  erecius.     (Broom  Grass.) 
A  series  from  poor  soil. 
IX.  Rolcus  lanatus.     (Satin  Grass.) 

A  series  from  poor  soil. 
X.  Arrhenatherum  avenaceum. 

A  series  from  medium  soil. 
XI.  Setaria  glauca. 

A  series  from  medium  soil. 
XII.  Anlhoxanthum  odoratum.     (Sweet  Vernal  Grass.) 
A  series  from  medium  soil. 

XIII.  Festuca  ovina.     (Sheep's  Fescue.) 

A  series  from  poor  soil,  growing  in  bunches. 

XIV.  Lolium perenne  var.  Italicum.     (Italian  Rye  Grass.) 

A  series  from  low,  moist  soil. 

A  series  of  first  year's  growth  from  the  seed  in  garden  soil. 
XV.  Lolium  perenne.     (Rye  Grass,  Darnel.) 
A  series  from  medium  soil. 


132 

With  a  few  exceptions  the  specimens  were  personally  collected  in  the 
grounds  of  the  Department,  and  are  to  be  so  understood  when  nothing 
else  is  said  in  their  description.  They  all  grew  in  the  summer  of  1880 
except  the  few  series  illustrative  of  the  first  year's  growth  of  certain 
species.  The  character  of  the  soils  has  been  designated  as  rich  or  gar- 
den soil,  good  soil,  poorer  soil,  and  wayside  soil.  The  first  is  that  of  the 
experimental  garden  of  the  Department,  and  is  above  the  average  rich- 
ness of  cultivated  soils ;  the  second  is  that  of  the  lawns  about  the  De- 
pa^tment  building,  the  third,  a  light  gravelly  soil,  occurring  in  a  portion 
of  the  grounds,  and  the  last  the  gutters  and  paths. 

The  specimens  were  cut  close  to  the  roots,  weighed  and  dried  rapidly 
in  a  current  of  air  at  00°  C.  The  methods  of  analysis  were  such  as 
have  been  described  in  previous  reports. 


133 


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138 

The  preceding  analyses  furnish  the  data  from  which  is  derived  the 
general  conclusion  that  as  a  grass  grows  older  its  content  of  water 
decreases,  ash  decreases,  fat  decreases,  albumiuoids  decrease,  carbo- 
hydrates increase,  crude  liber  increases,  non  albuminoids  decrease  till 
bloom  or  slightly  after,  when  it  is  at  its  lowest,  and  then  increases  again 
during  the  formation  of  the  seed. 

There  are  exceptions  to  these  rules,  but  for  the  large  majority  of  spe- 
cies under  ordinary  conditions  of  environment  they  hold  good. 

There  are  almost  no  exceptions  to  the  fact  that  the  water  decreases  in 
tbe  maturer  specimens;  that  is  to  say,  the  plant  gradually  dries  up  and 
becomes  less  succulent.  The  ash  is  very  dependent  on  locality  and 
surroundings,  and  as  in  the  analyses  which  are  here  published  it  in- 
cludes whatever  soil  there  may  be  mechanically  adherent  to  the  blade 
or  stalk  as  collected,  it  sometimes  shows  irregularities  from  one  period 
to  another. 

The  albuminoids  decrease  in  amount  with  great  regularity,  the  few 
cases  where  an  increase  appears  being  due  to  the  fact  that  the  speci- 
mens were  probably  grown  under  varying  conditions. 

The  fiber  sometimes  decreases,  as  in  Bromus  erectus,  but  the  change 
in  that  direction  is  never  large. 

The  non-albuminoid  constituents,  however,  are  often  quite  the  reverse 
of  constant  in  their  manner  of  appearauce  and  disappearance,  and  show 
themselves  to  be  largely  or  more  aflected  by  environment  than  any  other 
constituent.  In  Agrostis  vulgaris  they  continue  to  decrease  after  bloom, 
and  in  Anthoxanthum  odoratum  and  Festuca  ovina  they  increase  steadily 
from  early  growth  to  maturity.  The  relative  amount  present  in  the 
same  species  from  different  localities  is  extremely  variable,  as  may  be 
seen  in  the  analyses  of  Ph Jeum  pratense,  where  specimens  from  Indiana 
contain  almost  no  non-albuminoid  nitrogen,  while  those  from  the  Dis. 
trict  of  Columbia  and  elsewhere  are  well  supplied.  The  specimens  from 
poorer  soil  having  the  smallest  amount  in  some  cases  and  the  largest  in 
others,  the  fact  can  hardly  be  due  directly  and  entirely  to  the  lack  of  cul- 
tivation, but  as  the  averages  show  that  the  best  grasses  contain  the  least 
non  albuminoids  it  is  plain  that  it  is  dependent  on  the  sources  of  nitro- 
gen and  the  supply  furnished  the  plant.  The  usual  changes  in  the  non- 
albuminoids  seem  to  point  to  the  possibility  that  they  increase  at  the 
time  of  the  formation  of  the  seed  in  the  act  of  transferring  to  the  seed, 
as  amides,  the  nitrogen  of  the  plant. 

THE  BEST  PERIOD  OF  GROWTH  AT  WHICH  TO  CUT  FOR  HAY. 

Although  largely  a  matter  of  opinion,  it  would  seem  from  the  forego. 
ing  results  that  the  time  of  bloom  or  very  little  Liter  is  the  fittest  for 
cutting  grasses  to  be  cured  as  hay.  The  amount  of  water  has  dimin- 
ished relatively,  and  there  is  a  proportionately  larger  amount  of  nutri- 
ment in  the  material  cut,  and  the  weight  of  the  latter  will  be  at  its 
highest  point  economically  considered.     Later  on,  the  amount  of  fiber 


139 

becomes  too  prominent,  the  stalk  grows  bard,  arid,  indigestible,  and  the 

albuminoids  decrease,  while  the  dry  seeds  are  readily  detached  from 
their  glumes  and  lost  with  their  store  of  nitrogen. 

For  different  species,  however,  different  times  are  undoubtedly  suit- 
able, and  experience  must  be  added  to  our  chemical  knowledge  to 
enable  a  rational  decision  to  be  arrived  at. 

THE   COMPOSITION   OF   THE   ASH. 

The  ash  of  many  foreign  varieties  of  grasses  have  been  analyzed  and 
the  results  collected  and  published  by  Wolff.  Of  American  growth  the 
ash  of  only  a  number  of  the  wild  glasses  collected  in  1878  have  been 
examined.     The  results  are  here  given  : 

A  sh  a  n  a  1  uses —  G  ra  sses . 


Name. 


I* 

T.  — 

si 


ITierocliloa  bnrealis  (Vanilla  Grass) 7.  42 

Pleusine  Indira  |  Wire  Grass) |  2.  69 

FAeusine  Indica  (Wire  Grass) 9.68 

Eleusine  Indica  (Wire  Grass)    9.84 

T'ni(da  latifolia  (Fescue  Grass). 4.92 

Cynodon  Dactylon  (Bermuda  Grass)  ...  C.  20 

Cynodon  Dactylon  (Bermuda  Grass) i  5.09 

Sporobolus  Indicus  (Smut  Grass)    I  6.02 

Andropogon  Yirginicus  (Broom  Grass) ..  2.97 

Andropogon  scoparius    1.33 

Port  pratetuii  (Kentucky  Blue  Grass)  . .  9.  88 

Poa  serotina  (Fowl  Meadow  Grass)  . . .  10.  80 

Dactyloctcnium  Egypt. (Egyptian Grass).  8  37 

Panicum  sanguinale  (Crab  Grass) 6.  40 

Panicum  maximum  (TrueGuinea  Grass)  4.  37 

Panicum  obttisum 5.18 

Panicum  rirgatum  (Tall  Panic  Glass)  5.  ."0 

Panicum  sp.\' 4.37 

Panicum  Texanum  (Texas  Millet 8.  48 

J'anicum  Crus-galli  (Barnyard Grass)  ..  4.27 

Panicum  filiform*  (Slender  Crab  Grass)  6.  37 

Sorghum  kaiepente  (Johnson  Grass) 10.  44 

Chrysopogon  nutans  (Indian  Grass) 2.  35 

Muhlcnbergia  diffusa  (Drop  Seed) 6.05 

BromxM  unioloidcs  (Schroder's  Grass) ...  8.  79 

Jiromus  carinatius  (Broom  Grass) 9.2!) 

Agrostis  exarata  (Browntop) 8.01 

Paspalumbt-re  (Water  Grass) 6.18 

Sctaria  getosa  ( Bristly  Fox-tail ) '  3. 24 

Leptochloa  mucronata  (Feather  Grass)..  6.46 

Tripxacum  dacth/loides  (Gama  Grass)...  2.52 

Tricupis  sederioides  (Tall  Kedtop)  1. 58 


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12.  00 

13.41 
3.68 
6.74 
6.78 

16.38 

3.'97~ 


1.81 
6.30 
8.13 


3 

c 

■Jl 


2.17 


.25 
1  26 


3.55 


42 


.83 


1.22 

1.74 

1.58 

.37 

'.'81 

1.33 
1.27 
2.98 

1.12 

2.47 

.80 

4.77 


CONCLUSION. 


The  work  which  has  been  collected  in  the  previous  pages  extended 
over  several  years,  from  1878  to  1883.  It  was  inaugurated  by  Dr.  Peter 
Collier,  as  chemist  to  this  Department,  and  the  laboratory  work  for  the 
first  year  was  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  Henry  B.  Parsons,  Mr.  Charles  Wel- 
lington, and  myself.  The  remainder  of  the  work  has  been  under  my 
own  supervision,  and  has  been  almost  entirely  carried  out  by  Mr.  Miles 
Fuller  and  myself.  It  is  hoped  that  the  collection  and  re-arrangement 
of  the  results  will  give  them  an  increased  value. 


GLOSSARY  OF  TERMS  USED  IN  DESCRIBING  GRASSES. 


Abrupt.     Terminating  suddenly. 

Acuminate.     Extended  into  a,  tapering  point. 

Acute.     Sharp-pointed. 

Alternate.     Situated  regularly  one  above  the  other  on  opposite  sides. 

Annual.     Living  but  one  season. 

Anther.     The  organ  containing  the  pollen  or  flower- dust. 

Apex.     The  top  or  extreme  end  of  any  part. 

Appressed.     Pressed  together,  not  spreading. 

Arietate.     Having  an  awn  or  beard. 

Articulated.    Connected  by  a  joint  or  joints. 

Ascending.     Rising  obliquely  from  the  ground. 

Awl-shaped.     Gradually  narrowed  to  a  fine  point  like  an  awl. 

Awn.     A  bristle-like  organ  proceeding  from  the  glumes. 

Axis.     The  central  stem  of  a  panicle,  spike,  or  spikelet  on  which  the  flowers  are  dis- 
posed . 

Beard.     A  long  slender  hair  or  awn. 

Biennial.     Living  through  two  seasons. 

Bifid.     Divided  into  two  portions  at  the  apex. 

Bisexual.     Having  both  stamens  and  pistils. 

Blade.     The  expanded  portion  of  a  leaf. 

Boat-shaped.     Folded  together  in  the  form  of  a  boat;  convex  outwardly  and  concave 
on  the  inside. 

Branch.     A  division  of  the  stem  or  panicle. 

Branchlet.     A  secondary  division  of  the  branch. 

Brisths.     Short,  stiff  hairs. 

Bulbous.     Thickened  like  a  bulb. 

Ccespitose.     Growing  in  bunches  or  tufts. 

Capillary.     Hair-like,  very  slender. 

Carinate.     Keeled,  having  a  prominent  ridge  in  the  center. 

Cartilaginotis.     Firm  and  tough  like  cartilage. 

Catiline.     Belonging  to  the  culm  or  stem. 

Chaff.     The  dried  glumes  and  palets  of  grasses. 

Chartaceous.     The  texture  resembling  paper  or  parchment  in  thickness. 

Ciliate.     Having  the  margin  or  nerves  fringed  with  hairs. 

Compressed.     Flattened  laterally. 

Contorted.     Twisted. 

Convolute.     Rolled  together  inward  from  the  margins. 

Coriaceous.     Of  a  leathery  consistence. 

Cornaceous.     Of  a  horn-like  consistence. 

Culm.     The  stalk  or  stem  of  grasses. 

Cuspidate.     Ending  in  a  sharp,  stiff  point. 
Decumbent.     Reclining  on  the  ground,  but  rising  at  the  top. 
Dichotomous.     Branching  in  twos,  forking  by  pairs. 
Digitate,    Dividing  from  a  common  point. 

141 


142 

Dioecious.     Having  the  stamens  and  pistils  on  separate  plants,  the  stainiuato  flow 
on  one  and  pistillate  flowers  on  another. 

Diverging.     Widely  spreading. 

Dorsal.     Belonging  to  or  growing  from  the  hack. 

Emarginate.      Having  a  notch  at  the  end. 

Entire.     Without  notches  or  divisions. 

Equal.     Alike  in  length. 

Exsjerted.     Protruded,  extended  beyond,  standing  out. 

Fertile     Having  perfect  pistils;   producing  fruit. 

Fibrous.      Having  thread-like  divisions. 

Filament.     The  stalk  or  support  of  the  anther. 

Filiform.     Thread-like. 

Flexuous.     Bending  freely. 

Floret.     The  (lowers  of  grasses  are  sometimes  called  florets. 

Foliaceous.     Resembling  a  leaf. 

Fusiform.     Spindle-shaped,  largest  in  the  middle  and  tapering  to  both  ends. 

Geniculate.     Bent  abruptly,  like  a  knee. 

Genus.     A  group  of  species  having  a  general  agreement  in  structure. 

Glabrous.     Smooth,  without  hairs  or  roughness. 

Glaucous.     Having  a  grayish  green  color. 

Glomerate.     Clustered  in  small  roundish  heads. 

Glumes.     The  chaff-like  leaves  forming  a  part  of  the  flowers. 

Herbaceous.     Herb-like,  not  woody. 

Hirsute.     Pubescent,  with  rather  stiff  and  coarse  hairs. 

Hyaline.     Thin  and  transparent. 

Imbricate.      Closely  overlapping  each  other,  as  frequently  the  flowers  of  a  spikelet. 

Indigenous.     Growing  naturally  ;   not  brought  from  some  other  country. 

Inferior.     Lower  in  position. 

Inserted.     Growing  out  of,  or  upon  another. 

Internode.     The  space  between  two  nodes  or  joints. 

Involute.     Rolled  together  inwards. 

Joints.     Thickenings  in  the  stem  where  the  leaves  originate  ;  separable  parts  of  an 
axis  ;  point  of  issue  of  the  branches  of  a  panicle. 

Keel.     Au  elevated  longitudinal  ridge,  in  the  middle  of  a  leaf,  glume,  or  palet ;  re- 
sembling the  keel  of  a  boat. 

Lamina.     The  free  or  expanded  portion  of  a  leaf,  as  distinguished  from  the  petiole  or 
the  shea'h;  the  blade  of  a  leaf. 

Lanceolate.     Tapering  gradually  to  the  apex,  like  a  lancet. 

Lateral.     At  or  from  the  side. 

Ligule.     A  tongue-like  appendage  at  the  upper  part  of  the  sheath  of  a  leaf. 

Line.     The  twelfth  part  of  au  inch. 

Linear.     Long  and  narrow,  with  parellel  sides. 

Lobe.     Some  division  of  a  glume. 

Male  f  outer.     A  flower  that  has  stamens,  but  without  pistil. 

Membranaceous.     Thin  like  a  membrane,  generally  somewhat  translucent. 

Alonaciou*.     With  stamens  and  pistils  in  different  flowers  on  the  same  plant. 

Midrib.     The  central  and  principal  nerve  of  a  leaf  or  glume. 

Mucronate.     Abruptly  tipped  with  a  short  awn  or  bristle. 

Nervis.     The  ribs  or  veins  of  a  leaf,  or  leaf-like  organ. 

Neutral.     Having  neither  stamens  nor  pistils. 

Nodes.     Knots  or  thickened  portions  in  the  culms. 
Oblong.     Longer  than  wide,  with  nearly  parellel  sides. 
Obovale.     Egg-shaped,  with  the  wider  end  uppermost. 
Obtuse.     Blunt  or  rounded  at  the  apex. 
Oval.     Broadly  elliptical,  approaching  a  rounded  form. 


14;) 

Ovary.     That  part  of  the  pistil  which  contains  the  seed. 

Ovate.     Egg-shaped. 

Palet  or palea.    The  inner  scale  or  chaff  of  the  proper  flower,  placed  nearly  opposite 

and  a  little  higher  on  the  axis  than  the  flowering  glume. 
Panicle.    A  branched  and  subdivided  stem  bearing  the  flowers. 
Pedicel.     A  small  branchlel  support  inn  ;l  spikeiet. 
Peduncle.     The  main  stem  or  stalk  of  a  flower-spike. 
Perennial,    Living  more  than  two  years,  or  indefinitely. 
Perfect.      Having  both  stamens  and  pistils. 
Petiole.     The  stem  of  a  leaf. 

Pistil.     The  central  or  female  organ  of  a  fertile  flower. 
Pistillate.      Having  only  pistils  without  stamens. 
Plumose.      Feather-like. 

Pollen.     The  powder  contained  in  the  anthers. 
Pubescent.     Clothed  with  short  and  soft  hairs. 
Radical  leaves.     Those  growing  from  the  base  of  the  culm. 
Revolute.     Ro  ling  backwards  or  outwards. 
Ehachis.     The  axis  or  stem  on  which  the  tlowers  of  a  spikeiet  are  arranged  ;  also  the 

common  axis  of  a  close  spike  or  of  a  panicle. 
lihi;oma  or  Hoot-stock.     A  horizontal  underground  stem. 
Bibs.     Prominent  nerves  of  the  leaves  or  glumes. 
Rugose.     Wrinkled  or  furrowed. 

Scabrous.     Rough,  with  small  point"  or  short  stiff  hairs. 
Scarious.     Dry  and  thin,  and  generally  transparent. 
Sericeous.     Covered  with  soft,  silky  hairs. 

Serrate.     Having  teeth  on  the  margin,  pointed  towards  the  apex. 
Serrulate.     Finely-toothed. 
Sessile.     Without  a  foot-stalk  or  pedicel. 
Setaceous.     Like  a  bristle. 

Sheath.     That  part  of  the  leaf  which  embraces  the  culm  or  stalk. 
Sj)ike.     A  collection  of  sessile  or  nearly  sessile  tlowers  on  a  close,  narrow  axis. 
Spikeiet.     A  ilower  or  cluster  of  ilowers  having  one  pair  of  outer  glumes. 
Stamen.     The  male  organs  of  a  ilower,  including  the  anther  and  filament. 
Staminate.     Having  only  stamens. 
Sterile.     Imperfect  tlowers  not  producing  seed. 
Strict.     Erect  and  close. 

Stoloniferous.     Sending  off  offshoots  or  runners  from  the  base. 
Strigose.     Having  spreading,  bristly  hairs. 
Style.     That  portion  of  the  pistil  bearing  stigmas  or  a  stigmatie  surface  ;  in  grasses 

often  branching. 
Subulate.     Stiff  and  linear,  shaped  like  an  awl. 
Succulent.     Fleshy  and  juicy. 
Truncate.     Abruptly  cut  off  at  the  apex. 

Unequal.     Xot  of  equal  length. 

Vcrticillute.     Arranged  in  a  whorl  or  whorls. 

Villous.     Velvety,  clothed  thickly  with  long,  soft  hairs. 

Whorl.     A  number  of  leaves  or  branches  arranged  around  a  stem  on  the  same  plane. 

Woolly.     Clothed  with  long  and  matted  hairs. 


INDEX  OF  PLATES. 


Plato. 

Agropyrum  glaucum .m c7 

repeus 

Agrost  is 48 

exarata 49 

oxarata  var.  PaeUica IOC 

vulgaris 48 

Alfalfa 96 

Aliilaria - 101 

Alopecums  pratensis 35 

Audropogou  furcat  us 29 

uiacrourus 28 

seoparius 27 

Virginicus 2(5 

Antlioxanthum  odoratuui   34 

Aristida  purpurea 36 

Arrheuatlieruni  avcuaceum 58 

Avena  falna • ---  • 57 

Barnyard  grass 14 

Beckiuanuia  erneaeformis    8 

Bei  muda  grass 59 

Blue  grass,  Englisb 74 

Kentucky 75 

mountain 78 

Texas 7:3 

Bluejoint 20,51 

Blue  stein,  Colorado 87 

Bouteloua  oligostachya  02 

raceraosa 03 

Bromus  seealinus 84 

unioloides 85 

Broom  sedge 27 

Bnchloe  dactvloides 06 

Bulla! o  grass 06 

Bunch  grass 83 

Cactus 99 

Calamagrostis  Canadensis 51 

longitolia 53 

sylvatica 52 

Canary  grass,  American 33 

Cheat  ...... B4 

Chess ^4 

Chlorisalba 108 

Chrysopogon  nutans 30 

Cinua  arundinacea 50 

Clover,  Alsike 93 

buffalo 94 

bur 97 

3594  Gil 10  M5 


14G 

Plate. 

Clover,  J;i  pan 98 

Mexican 102 

Cord  grass GO 

Couch  grass 8S 

Crab  grass 15 

Crow  foot 05 

Cut  grass 24 

Uynodon  Dactylon 59 

Dactylis  glomerata 72 

Deschampsia  cacspitosa T 107 

Diplachoe  dabia 109 

Disticlilis  maritima 71 

Eleusine  Aegyptiaca 65 

Iudica 64 

Elymus  Canadensis B9 

condensatas 90 

Virginicus 91 

Eragrostis  major 70 

Erodiuni  cicutarium 101 

Esparset  to 95 

Euchlaena  luxuriaus 22 

Eurotia  lanata 100 

Fescue,  sheep's 82 

tall  meadow 81 

Festuca  elatior 81 

oviua 82 

scabrella 83 

Fowl  meadow  grass 76 

Foxtail,  meadow 35 

Gama  grass 21 

General  illustrations  of  grasses : 

Dissections  of  iiowers 4 

Inilorescence 3 

Roots  and  rhizomes 1 

Sheaths,  ligules,  and  blades 2 

Glyceria  arundinaeea 79 

Canadensis 114 

nervata 80 

Grama  grass 62 

black 62 

tall    63 

Guinea  grass 9 

Herd's  grass 45 

Hilaria  Jamesii 25 

Holcus  lanatus - 54 

Hungarian  grass 19 

Johnson  grass 31 

June  grass 75 

Kceleria  cristata 69 

Leersia  Virgin ica 24 

Loliuni  perenne 86 

Lespedeza  striata 98 

Lucerne - 96 

Medicago  denticulata 97 

sativa 93 


147 

Plate. 

Melica  bulbosa HI 

diffusa HO 

imperfecta 112 

Millet  grass,  Indian 13 

Mil li urn  e tins 1 1 in 41 

Muhlenberg  ia  comata 104 

diffusa 41 

glomerata 42 

Mexieana 43 

sylvatica 44 

Nimble  Will 41 

Oat  grass,  tall  meadow 58 

wild 30 

Onobrychis  safciva 95 

Opuntia  Engelmanni 99 

Orchard  grass 72 

Oryzopsis  cuspidata 39 

Pauieum  agrostoides 17 

anceps - 18 

barbiuode 12 

Crns-galli 14 

gibbnni 103 

ma  xi  in  nin 9 

miliaceum 13 

proliferum 11 

sanguiualo 15 

Texaiuun 10 

virgatuni 1G 

Paspalum  platycaule 6 

Para  grass 12 

Phalaris  arandinacea 32 

intermedia 32 

Pbleum  pratense '. 45 

Pbragniites  communis 68 

Pigeon  grass 20 

Pin  grass 101 

Poa  andina 78 

aracbuifera 73 

compressa 74 

pratensis  ....". 75 

serotina 70 

ten  ni  folia „ 77 

Prickly  pear 99 

Quack  grass 88 

Reed  grass 08 

Redtop 48 

western 49 

Relief  grass,  Stewart's 33 

Ricbardsonia  scabra 102 

Rye  grass,  perinnial 86 

Sainfoin 95 

Salt  grass 71 

Setaria  glauca 20 

Italica  . . , 19 

Smut  grass 47 


148 

Plata 

Sorghum  halepense 31 

Spartina  cynosuroides GO 

jancea (il 

Sporobolns  airoides L05 

cryptandrua 46 

Indicus 47 

Stix>it  Bpartea 38 

viridnla 37 

Sweet  vernal  grass 34 

Switch  grass 1G 

Teosinte 22 

Timothy 45 

Trii'olinin  hybridnm 92 

incarnatam 94 

stolon  item  in 94 

Trisetnm  palastre 55 

sabspicatam 5G 

Triodia  seslerioides G7 

Tripsaenni  dactyloides    21 

Uniola  latifolia 113 

Velvet  grass 54 

White  grass , 24 

Wild  oats 57 

Wild  rice 23 

Wild  rye 89,91 

Winter  fat 100 

Wood  grass 30 

Zizania  aquatica 23 


Plate  1 


Roots  and  rhizomes  of  grasses. 


Plate  2. 


Sheaths,  ligules.  and  blades  of  grasses. 


Plate  3. 


1     # 


%i 


i 


m.-%\  -f  j% 


11 


te?^ 


flf 


m. 


%m 


-/ 


^ 


//    # 


IP 


r 


Inflorescence  of  grasses. 


//ff 


Plate  4. 


Dissections  of  grass  flowers. 


Plate  5. 


Paspalum  dilatatoi. 


Plate  6. 


W.R.,ScHCLL.deL 


Paspalum  platycaule. 


Plate  7. 


-mt<j$c?wii.aeis* 


Paspalum  distichoi. 


Plate  8. 


TmSchoU.ael,. 


Beckmannia  erucjeformis. 


-     :  '    a//,    /t 


Plate  9. 


Panicum  maximum,  Guinea  grass. 


Plate  10. 


tex  Id 


§     X 


Paxicuji  Texaxtm,  Texas  -btee-gwiss. 


Plate   11 


\  mi  I  fi 

i  1 


Panicum  proliferoi. 


Plate  12. 


. 


I 

!  / 
j 

1 


Panicum  barbixode,  Para  grass. 


Plate  13. 


™  __        ^      -v      - 


Panicum  miliaceum,  Indian  millet  grass. 


ifti 


"\\\m. 


j\%^- 


Panicum  Crus-galli,  Barn-yard  grass. 


Plate  15. 


urcm 


Panicum  sanguis  ale,  Crab  grass. 


Plate  16. 


Paotcum  virgatum,  Switch  grass. 


Plate  17. 


Pakicum  agrostoides. 


Plate  18. 


Panicum  axceps. 


Plate  19. 


Set  aria  Italic  a,  Hungarian  grass. 


'JiUm  (/el 


Plate  20. 


MkBK-DEL. 


Set  aria  glauca,  Pigeon  grass. 


Plate  21 


jEty.  m 


Trips acum  dactyloides.  Gama  grass. 


Euchl^xa  luxuriaxs,  Teosinte. 


Zizaxia  aquatica,  Wild  rice. 


Plate  24. 


JtiSchoCia*  t- 


Leersia  Virgixica.  White  grass.  Cut  grass. 


Plate  25. 


TTTT,*m\  .Ta^uf.^tt. 


Plate  26. 


AXDROPOGON  VlKGINICUS. 


Plate  27. 


Andropogon  scopaiuus,  Broom  sedge. 


Plate  28. 


tofc&X.DEl.. 


{  ^   W&MOVJS. 


Andropogon   macrourus. 


Plate  29. 


WEOC  At\,. 


Andropogon  FDECATUB,  Bluejoint. 


Plate  30. 


Wu  w. 


Chrysopogok  nutans.  Wild  oat  grass.  W<  od  giass. 


Plate  31 


Sorghum  halepense,  Johnson  grass. 


Plate  32. 


:  BE  ::•■  ivnn  : 


Phalaris  aruxdixacea. 


Plate  33. 


Phalaris  intermedia,  Stewart" s  relief  grass,  American  Cb 


H.H.NICHOLS,  Sd 


anary  grass. 


Plate  34. 


^X^XAfcU 


ANTHOXANTHUM  ODORatum,  Sweet  vernal  grass. 


Plate  35. 


*.Y\.tt\cHOLS-tna. 


ttKK/^S-U 


Alopecurus  pratensis.  Meadow  foxtail. 


Plate  36. 


^J\ 


Aristida  PURPUREA,  Awned  I  anch  grass. 


WAR  X.DEL. 


Plate  37. 


Stipa  viridula. 


Plate  38. 


Stipa  spartea. 


Plate  39. 


Oryzopsis  cuspidata.  Indian  millet  grass. 


Plate  40. 


Milium  effusum. 


Plate  41 


\WXTV  It. 


Muhlexbergia  diffusa,  Nimble  Will. 


Plate  42. 


'KRX.OSA. 


MUHLENBERGIA    GLOMERATA. 


W.ri.WGWvJ\-S. 


Plate  43. 


MUHLEXBERGIA    MeXICANA. 


arl  U 


Plate  44. 


F.tf.N  9c. 


MARX. DEL 


MUHLEXBEBGIA   SYLVATICA. 


• 


Plate  45. 


1  A/Jyl 


Phleum  pratexse.  Timothv. 


urn* 


Plate  46. 


$ 


Sporobolus  cryptandrus. 


Plate  47. 


WCX  kv 


Sporobolus  Indicus,  Smut  grass. 


Plate  43. 


MARX  DE 


Agrostis  vulgaris,  Red  top. 


Plate  49. 


AGEOSTIS  exarata.  Western  red  top. 


Plate  50. 


ClNNA   ARUNDINACEA. 


Plate  51 


t\\£Y\Q\-S-EUG. 


vM\FJn-OE\_. 


Calamagrostis  CDeyeuxia)  Canadensis,  Blue  joint. 


Plate  52. 


Calamagkostis  (Deyeuxia)  sylvatica. 


Plate  53. 


.1 


Calamagrostis  longifolia. 


Plate  54. 


lj 

ft 

I 

1ft  \ 

i 

|l  ! 

1  | 
i    I' 

'.HMcholsAc 


Marx  Ud. 


Holcus   lanatus.    Velvet  grass. 


Plate  55. 


TRI8ETUM  PALUSTRE. 


Plate  56. 


teALNic 


Ltis* 


Trisetum   subspicatum. 


Plate  57. 


A  YEN  A  fatua,  Wild  oats. 


Plate  58. 


Arrhexatheroi  ayenaceol  Tall  meadow  oat  grass. 


Plate  59. 


-r/-     st 


Cyxodon  Dactylox,  Bermuda  grass. 


Plate  60. 


Spartixa  cynosuroides.  Cord  grass. 


Plate  61. 


OJ-ifiDGMANN.SC. 


Sparti^a  juncea. 


Plate  62. 


Bouteloua  oligostachya,  Gramma  grass.  Black  gramma. 


Plate  63. 


iA/.R.Scholl.  deL 


Bouteloua  RACEMOSA,  Tall  gramma  grass. 


Plate  64 


Wm£i       ■     '     fv 


Eleusine  Indica. 


ETiEUSTXF.      ^.fiVPTTAPi       rVrm-frvr>+ 


Plate  66. 


Bvchloe  dactyloides,  Buffalo  grass. 


Plate  67. 


Triodia   seslerioides. 


/  II 


/■' 


ll 


Plate  68. 


tf  -'    /"Wv-:     '  V-"-'  "'      ' 


// 


' '  A  \\ 


3 


y^»i^f-'-:/  '^A>? 


mmm 


\  m 


•> 


W%m. 


2  > 


V\  ^-^ 


^ 


v/i/ar/  jai. 


Phragmites  communis,  Reed  grass. 


Plate  69. 


1V5SLS. 


TaJNUSPJdtV-. 


KCELERIA   CRISTATA. 


_  70. 


Eragrostis  major. 


Sa, 


^  4d 


Plate  71 


Distichlis  maritima.  Salt  grass. 


Plate  72. 


%RX.CE.L 


Dactylis  glouerata.  Orchard  grass. 


Plate  73. 


Poa  arachxifera.  Texas  blue  grass. 


Plate  74. 


fcMOMOLY.. 


Poa  coajpressa.  English  blue  grass. 


Plate  75. 


"few*,  jtv 


Poa  pratensis,  Kentucky  blue  grass,  June  grass. 


Plate  76. 


toust  ia 


Poa  serotina,  Fowl  rueadow  grass. 


Plate  77. 


\Kr?;x^i., 


POA   TENUIFOLJA. 


Plate  78. 


Poa  ANDINA,  Mountain  blue  grass. 


Plate  79. 


w 


m 


Glyceria  aruxdixacea  . 


Plate  80. 


IARX.DEL 


Glyceria  nervata. 


Plate  81 


Festuca  elatior,  Tall  meadow  fescue. 


NICHOLS 


Plate  82. 


U;ti.U\CUOLS  £N 


Festuca  otixa,  Sheep's  fescue. 


Plate  83. 


Festuca  scabrella,  Rough-leaved  fescue. 


Plate  84. 


YAKRX.tt^A-. 


Bromus  secalinus,  Chess. 


Plate  85. 


Bromus  unioloides  (half  size). 


Plate  86. 


Lolium  perenne.  Perennial  rve  grass. 


Plate  87. 


WZcholl.del 


Agropyroi  glaucum,  Colorado  blue  stern. 


Plate  88. 


Agropyrum  repexs,  Quack  grass,  Couch  grass. 


Plate  89. 


Elymus  Canadensis,  Wild  rve. 


Plate  90. 


Elymus  condensatus. 


PLATE  91 


Elymus  Virginicus,  Wild  rye. 


Plate  92. 


Trifolium  hybridoi.  Alsike  clover. 


Plate  93. 


CblUinadcl 


Trifolium  INCARNATUM. 


Plate  94. 


Trifolium  stoloniferum,  Buffalo  clover, 


Plate  95. 


v&cru/nq  tax- 


Onobrychis  sativa,   Sainfoin,  Esparsette. 


Plate  96. 


mt  *-  u. 


Medicago  satiya,  Alfalfa,  Lucerne. 


Plate  97. 


W.SHQLLdel 


Medic  ago  denticulata,  Bur  clover 


Plate  98. 


Lespedeza  striata,  Japan  clover. 


Plate  99. 


-3» 


OpOsTIa  Engelmanni,  Prickly  pear,  Cactus. 


F)Comnyy 


Eurotia  lanata,  Winter  fat. 


Plate  101. 


V>  Wf^ 


I     M, 


uv 


w^i-i  ■ 


3b 


^ 


.mm 


7  A 

Erodium  cicdtarium,  Pin  grass,  Alfilaria. 


Plate  102. 


m£fc  U- 


M.v.ircKrus  sc. 


Richardsonia  scabra,  Mexican  clover, 


Plate  103. 


Paxicum  gibbum. 


Plate  104. 


viVJb. 


MtJHLENBERGIA   COMATA. 


Plate  105. 


Sporobolus  AIROIDES. 


Plate  106. 


H.H.N, 


Agrostis  exarata  var.  Pacifica. 


Plate  107. 


<fr*M 


Deschampsia  c^espitosa,  Hair  grass. 


Plate  108. 


TOorxAi. 
Chloris  alba. 


Plate  109. 


DlPLACHNE   DUBIA. 


Plate  110. 


Melica  diffusa. 


Plate  111. 


i\.H.UVCHOLS. 


Melica  bulbosa. 


t:\M\J3RJMEL. 


Plate  1 12. 


Melica  imperfecta. 


Plate  11 3. 


UXIOLA   LATIFOLIA. 


Plate  114. 


Y 


Glyceria  Canadensis. 


Due 


Date    Due  I 

Returned  Due  Returned   tf^J^^jMs, 


A-Vvrjil" 


§  J0H0  9  W« 


jm  ftl^ 


?m. 


i'.-       _^»    ! 


ft 


rJDlD5W2 


:#KS 


V 


jy>  w£^^^h 


M 
H 


a5 


J,  b 


u5» 


-^ 


W- 


tu 


3    1262    04839    9066 


;■: 


-;v 


£&*mlL 


ilhiriiriilllilfmH^fl 

W1 


of 


«u? 


nil 

111 


1 

Ih2J 

I^Hta 


II 


